1939--A GOOD YEAR!

AGE SIX
 During my childhood it was a tradition
that the children (especially sons) 
in a Jewish family had to play the violin.
 And without question, 
excellence was expected...

The year: Nineteen Hundred 

and Thirty-Nine.

Dear mother of mine

heard the word--and

Every Jewish Mother's son

knew he was a 'chosen one'.

Requirement: I learn to play

(no matter what I might say)

 horse-hair-cat-gut, mortal-sin

apparatus called a violin.

SCREEEECH!

And so, as a gift I received

piles of dust, out of dusty piles.

From attic Grandpa retrieved:

you guessed it, a filthy old viol

no hair--no gut. Dried glue did

not hold it together, but rubber

bands did the trick--one slick

instrument repair

TEEEEECH!

Grandpa was not Jewish, you see...

neither was my mother. Nor me.

But everything is OK in the end.

I play violin, celebrate with friends

Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, EID(!),

Pentecost and the Feast of Stephen.

PRAKTISSSSS!

At an age when greatest of stars

in sports are 'over-the-hill'

I play violin, near and so far

and keep getting better still.

Has nothing to do with the fact

I can no longer hear the trill

SPEEEECH!

But this I say to you, my Peeps

an 'attitude of gratitude' keeps

me happy, joyous and free 

long as God will let me BE.

Blessings.

Love you.

PEEEEEEACE!

--Steve E  (aka steveroni)

PS. To "You know who you are"

I   L O V E  my

Liberty University

security blankee!

Thankee.

A GREATER DIMENSION

THE FINEST ACT OF LOVE

Naples Florida Beach MONDAY August 27, 2012

Hurricane Isaac now far away from us--
but right in midst of others. PRAY!

(Photo by Anna)

Used to be

(or seemed to me)

that love is rings, 'things'

I do for the one I love

--you

Comes a newer thought,

something I had ought

to know

many years ago

To be the 'achiever'

is not how we're bent.

He truly made us...as

His Own 'achievement'! 

It is not actions, deeds

which are most fertile seeds.

Rather, it is how

do I 'see' you now?

Finest act of love

is not in service done;

helping, supporting,

comforting, alleviating

your pain.

It is but to SEE the beauty

and goodness of your soul.

For when I do

you see it, too!

and so we grow

with confidence,

in consciousness

This way for transformation

enabling a sweetest creation

through act of contemplation

for you, for me, for all--

download, unzip, install.

--Steve E (aka steveroni) 

written for and posted to 

dVerse Poets Pub

Open Link Night # 59

(Open Tuesday at 3 PM)

A QUICKIE DIVERSION DIMENSION

Posted in and for MAGPIE Tales

I'm so old

It's so cold

I'm out here

wanting in there

Cops said "Freeze!"

I ran. I hid in snow.

Nowhere else to go

OMG! Had to 

(AHH-CHOO!)

SNEEZE.

I froze my butt off.

Like ice chunk, body broke at

Head and Shoulders©.

And this top half of me

is banging on your door

Cops said "You BUSTED!"

I said, "You RIGHT!"

It still cold

I'm even more old

Wll you open door

let me in there?

--Steve E aka steveroni

NUMBER TEN--OUT-OF-TEN

SHORT STORY

Nine hundred miles north of home (Naples, Florida) 

is situated the state of Virginia. 

I read the message, from writer/poet/blogger Brian Miller

who resides in the 'city-of-enthusiasm', 

Virginia

"If you need to crash, our door is always open", he wrote.

Well, "crash"--to some--has a connotation of  

'drop by, eat a bowl of cereal, 

sack out on couch for five hours, 

and be on your way'. 

Brian did not realize that when I "crash"

...it is for three days and nights! HO! HO! HO!

He and I had never met

...and yet

for me, it was like two friends 

having a long-overdue reunion.

During one time I was left alone 

in their home

I met a Peep who stays with them,

My name for him: PRAYER-BOY

As Prayer-Boy and I were 

getting to 'know' one another

(Really!) I wondered that he 

did not know, nor worry,

that his lifetime here

is less than a year.

He and I talked of the gratitude

we share during our time 
there and there
and everywhere.

We viewed gazing, (gaping?)

at the backyard scene 

as must be enjoyed 
by Brian, his lovely wife, 

and two well-mannered sons.
(Camouflaged for privacy ;-)

Brian: back yard through screen of porch

Please understand

everything spotlessly clean, 

beautifully decorated, arranged:

Good, Orderly Direction.

Then in blew hurricane-a-roni 

to put some disorder in this 

Camelot

Picture is my room, 
with shower and bath in

comfortable basement corner.

In three short minutes

I made it look like 

THIS:

Staying with the Millers was 
restful, enjoyable. 
I was made to feel 
like a welcomed member 
of the family for three days

The high school Peeps 
who Brian is teaching
have no idea what gifts
they are receiving.
Nor does he know
how far he is reaching
into their lives.

Thank you, my friends!
LOVE, JOY and PEACE!
Steve E

NUMBER NINE--WET 'N WILD PICTORIAL

THOUGHTS FROM DOWN

 UNDER THE BRIDGE

A Perfect time to check out

--move on, before it...

R A I N S !

NOT MUCH...BUT IT'S HOME!

Of COURSE, I love the water, the torrential Downpour, 

the drops feeling like thousands pins pricking my face.

Getting drenched. Who WOULDN'T love all that?

SMILE? WHY? For that Fk'n CAMERA?

Sure I'm happy! Soaked through to the skin, 

my computer soaked, all clothing, 

Smart Phone swimming in my shirt pocket.

Why should I not be HAPPPEEEEEE? WHEEE!

Pssst! Buddy? 

Is there a STARBUCKS under this overpass?

______________________________

See? I tell the truth about being JOYFUL 

even while holed up under a bridge during a storm.

Actually, I was GRATEFUL, Peeps!

BLESSINGS,

--Steve E  (aka steveroni)

Photo Credits: ME and my Sony Cyber-shot..

NUMBER EIGHT-Teen WHEELS

UNDIQUE

Latin term meaning:

"from all parts, from every quarter

on all sides, on every part

all around, everywhere.."

Expresses being attacked,

no chance of escape.

It is the same feeling I had 

on my scooter yesterday, while...

Riding down the long road

up and down hills

thinking of my loved ones

and how to pay the bills.

Out from nowhere she blows,

storm-of-storms, for me 

drenched through to my bones

so I almost didn't see

overpass, a mile ahead.

Maybe I can swing over--

and under...and

MY GOD, WHERE ALL THESE

F'N TRUCKS GONNA LAND?

Everywhere I see is wheels--

in agreed-on denominations of eighteens

as I'm riding here at 80/per

sitting in biting rains and well-soaked jeans

LATER

Scared? Nah! Well...a little--grin!

Made it to under the next bridge

seven miles beyond. (And ya know what?)

Believe this:

I knelt down on the sidebar of I-95,

thanked God and Flex--I'm still alive.

Also for the shelter, blessed am I.

Flex is my Guardian Angel,

name really "Flexibelle"

The TRUTH? Having more fun than EVER 

could I imagine on this 18-day ride!

Nearly each mile a learning experience

Back home in Naples this weekend.

LOVE and PEACE, Peeps!

--Steve E  (aka steveroni)

Published on "Week #58" in dVERSE

NUMBER SIX--GOOD AND/OR BAD

 Riding my bike

these many miles

(so far 3,000!)

I enjoy making

'poem-phrases'

which are profound

NOTHINGNESSes.

Tossing around 

some crazy thoughts,

I tried to write

meaningful words

insensibly 

sensible in

four-syllable 

lines, lines, lines,lines....

PART OF MY LIFE

From first moment 

I heard you speak,

'good' or 'bad'--I.

of two judgements,

is nothing more

--until I die.

Believed every word,

intonation,

through it all:

intoxication.

'Good'--often 'Bad'

'Bad' on 'Good' list

joke is on me.

so late in life,

discover this twist

Had I not been

horribly drunk,

damaged lives and 

whole families

or had not growled,

snarled, and--(I stunk!)

how-ever could I 

help another

in their normal

 abnormal-tees?

"Nothing...as seems"

is not so sad

good is not good

and bad hardly 

EVER so bad

--Steve E  (aka steveroni)

(Thanks to Brian 

Miller for the
'four-syllable'

inspiration!)

Image
Duality BW by Pr3t3nd3r.jpg
in DeviantArt

NUMBER FIVE--COFFEE, WiFi, and BATH TOWEL

OFF THE ROAD AGAIN

 Every fact mentioned 

below is true. 

No address  is given

for obvious reasons

During midday heat suffocation,

Plaza Royal Resort beckoned  

red-helmeted biker. "Step inside.

Be with ya in a secont."

Over slippery tiles, watched him glide

holding tightly as if were gold--

local newspaper's two-week old

coffee-stained comic pages.

WiFi and coffee, next 24...what more?

Indeed, no more what. No more.

Rented room one-twenty-two

Sign on door "Smoke-No-More"

Inside...recently produced nicotine-laced clouds

Asked "concierge", (grin!)  who puffed

like a diesel locomotive.

Wearing dirty torn shirt-and-shorts

--no shoes,

he answered "everybody here smokes!" 

Oooooooo. A clue! Stay or leave?

24-hour coffee, plus WiFi

No bath towel? No ANY towel! no table, chair...

Why all this hair in tub? No soap.

Refrig. Yes. Warm. Microwave. NO.

Dust on small fridge-top shows where micro WAS!

 TV or not TV? (none), nor phone--rememb-ring 

1940 marquee,"Phone in Every Room!"

Computer access?

YESSSSS!

And hava java anytime

(Focus on what is important)

Not carpet on floor, not handle on door.

One, just one dim bulb for 'brightless'. 

OH! did I mention...nooooooo toilet paper. None.

('Experienced red-helmeted bikers

bring their own, heheh!)

Say something nice here: WONDERFUL BED! 

And the hourly-scheduled train  on "Track 29" 

in front of room 122 bothered me not one bit.

Coffee hot! Sugar kept in mason jar, 

no spoon, just dump a little into cup, 

taste, dump a bit more. Ahhhhh! 

I could write a chapter on 

"Continental Breakfast"...

a nicely piled paper plate of 

stale, soft, old OREOS. 

They had once known freshness same year biker was born. 1933 (that one with red head gear!)

Writing this a week after the happenings, I'm munching an old, stale, soft Oreo and drinking (sweet!) coffee, enjoying WiFi. Wondering how I will explain to the Peeps who ask--with askance--why would anyone stay in  place like that? All I can say is, I am a writer and observe us all, in all of our humanity, and report on that. not to force humor, beyond that "Human IS Humor".

I did not let you know about the groups of young girls who hung around the ROYAL PLAZA, nor the dark-painted, window-tinted vehicles which laid their rubber here and there through the parking areas. I walked in the dark among the wheeling dealing Peeps, as if invisible--to get coffee.

During afternoon and evening, I was told, "Towels on the way. They are at the laundromat." At 10:00 PM I was handed a bath towel. One. It had not been laundered. It was new, with store tags still attached. (The only real puzzle of my stay at Royal Plaza Resort.)

Coffee, and WiFi! 

What more could a lone scooter-traveler wish?

LOVE and PEACE, you Peeps!

Steve E

(Hello Tara and Brian!)

NUMBER 4 SHORT STORY

BETWEEN THERE AND THERE
Published for Dverse--Tuesdays at 3--or after!

Why (when putting along about 80 mph somewhere on I-95 between there and there, does my Suzuki engine decide it's 'siesta' time?

Is it in real fact

a silver-painted 

Briggs and Stratt?--

WHY does it stop running?

NOW!

Flex, my scooter, quit...
right behind and in front of
two behemoths. WHY?

I'LL TELL YOU WHY!

Flex ran out of gas

I knew Flex could 'do' zero-to-sixty in four seconds (true!)
NOW I know he can do 'eighty-to-zero' in TWO seconds
(also true!)
So also can behemoths. THANK GOD! AND THAT'S THE TRUTH

NOTE: It was a lonnngg walk in 'noonday sun'over hill-and-dale (Mommie, what's a 'dale'???)
from I-95 to the nearest farmhouse--grin!
(NOT a "Farmer's Daughter" tale.) LOL!
 
These days I'm riding the 'Blue Highways'...
away from the super-roads.
Bike is extra-strained,
since I must have gained
10 lbs in these 10 days!!!--grin!
But LIFE IS GOOD! GOD IS GOOD!

LOVE and PEACE, Peeps!
Steve E (aka steveroni)

Psssst! A SECRET!
For you Peeps ONLY:
 
I just now rode into Brian's home town.
(He lives either "there" or "there"!)
He does not know I'm here.

Wanted to get this posted on Dverse Pub.
"First Things First"
favorite slogan-a-roni
NOW I'll call Brian...
pretend (huff-puff)
that I just drove up this instant!
--grin! 

NUMBER 3 GOODBYE CHARLESTON

These experiences:

people, places, things

weave in, out and about

during time on earth.

More than I expect, they influence

my attitude, outlook, behavior(s),

my state of being.

Upon termination of certain of these  

participations in --and of--life

I am sad at having to leave--

Full of JOY, to move on!

This now, is my last night in the city of lovely neighborhoods, an open-to-public aircraft carrier, historic downtown, Charleston, South Carolina. Jessie--a blogger--and her husband and his son have had me under their feet for three whole days and nights, fed me spiritually and physically. These days were filled with AA meetings--oh! did I mention, FOOD?--and a few "get-to-know-you" conversations including a Sunday morning church service with all the fixings.


And coffee, coffee, coffee morning, noon and night, thank YOU, God, and Jessie, wife of an amazing chef!


Just finished Bowlfuls of ice cream swimming in caramel and chocolate syrups, laced with pecans (in syrup, of course!). Moments like these I call 'spiritual', dear Sweet Peeps!

Truth is, I could live in this city for a long time before wanting to be somewhere else.

PEEPS!
LOVE and PEACE! 
Steve E (aka steveroni)

NUMBER 2 THE 'EYES' HAVE IT

Laurie Kolb posted "EYE CONTACT" this morning, and her topic was what I had been thinking about--interactions (or inter-reactions!) of and between strangers--in this world of which we are all (oh yeah?) ONE. My comment to her became this post for today--from St. Augustine. (I have a St Augustine story, but it can wait--I'll NEVER forget it--grin!

The EYES HAVE IT--YESSSS!

Some things we cannot log. 

WHO but the giver and receiver 

can explain in language...  

"the look"?

I'm On The Road, of course, 

writing experiences along the way. 

But HOW can I export to you 

the feelings (emotions)

trust

the love 

which is simply and bidirectionally

transferred with no more (nor less?) than
"the look".
 

A stranger's eyes, smiling. 

Smiling back at my own, 

and then that explosion 

of a facial smile

wide as the ocean...

and just as full of meaning. 

How can YOU experience this--of mine, 

by my pressing these stupid keys?

"The LOOK"...pass it on.

...and so some parts of all our 'stories' 

have to end up in that 

INFINITE UNIVERSAL POT OF GOLD--

itself alone spacious enough 

to contain the universal thoughts, 

feelings, 'smiles', trusts, life, loves...

of whoever lived

and whoever will.

All we gotta do

is open our eyes

...and look

in LOVE and SERVICE and PEACE!

--Steve E (eyes-a-roni)

Number 1 "A FEW 24 HOURS"

Frequently in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, I hear somebody announce--during their 'share'--"Now *I've been around AA for a few 24's", usually meaning he's been sober a long time. My question: if ya been sober 49 years...well, why not SAY it? Let the new Peeps know that it CAN be done. Show them that long-term sobriety and a happy life can be achieved by following a few simple suggestions. 

When a Peeps asks, "How do I stay sober?" I answer, "If ya don't drink...you'll never get drunk! GUARANTEED!" I'm getting away from my 24-Hour story.

In one meeting I attended today, this morning in Sebring, FL, an old fellow (Well, not as old as ME--but he looked a lot older--grin!) said in that snarly manner of one who is practicing the virtue of humility in reverse, "I've been sober a couple 24-hours!" (Later, I found out he'd been sober 28 years...OK, so what! Do he want flowers, or a cake? Sheeesh!").

I couldn't wait to tell my own experience. At my FIRST AA meeting in 1974, a guy announced he had a "couple 24's of sobriety". So I--a newbie--figured he had been sober TWO DAYS. Does not a 'couple' usually mean TWO? Anyway, I planned it that THIS guy would be my sponsor--he'd not been sober long enough to 'know the rules', etc. LOL!

Turned out he had 25 years--and did become my sponsor. Whatever he did with me must have worked, because I've not had even a sip of alcohol during these 38 years.

Alcoholics--recovering or not--will understand my story, and maybe others will also. It (a happy life) all comes down to "BE MYSELF". Popeye the Sailor Man, pipe-in-mouth always said "I-YAM WHO I-YAM". 

I YAM neither ashamed of my good self, nor my sometimes human, wavering self. If I'm unhappy with who I 'yam' then I got to fuckin' CHANGE who is that face in the mirror.

This enough from me today, Peeps. My Suzuki Bergman Scooter trip is awesome so far, and future is looking even better. I'll be riding about 3,000 miles and figure about 18 days And I'll tell y'all how it IS, instead of how I'd like it to be. Although lately those two characteristics are the same--grin! A couple surprises await which I'll tell you when/if they happen.

LOVE AND PEACE to all you Peeps...
Steve E (steveroni)

FLEXIBLE

"...'Cause I'm Leavin'...on a Jet plane

Don't know when I'll be back again..."

Itinerary will change daily

on nothing but

slim

whim-eroni...

Well...when I set out

riding super-scooter 'Flex', it

feels like a Jet takeoff

no shifting gear                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Just one looong swooOOOSHHHHH!

--and I'm outta here,

or there,

or anywhere!

Annual trudge, it is time!

Begin Tuesday AM at nine

--I ride for PEACE, Peeps.

Need no gold                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         it's only riding keeps

me less old

My dreams shall

need no money to 'see'

under faraway tree

my Honey, without me

reclining, lying--

sweetly sighing

here, there, 

everywhere

...and some call me insane

'cause I'm leavin'

like a Jet Plane...

don't know when

be back again.

NOTE:
(But probably between 2-3 weeks,

with aching back and butt...but

happily in PEACE with Universe

and you, my lovely Peeps!)

--steveroni

♥♥♥

In a Starbucks along the way, 

I'll post after 3 PM today

on and for dVerse POETS PUB

week # 56