Family and Friends

Honor Plaque

I hung my Honor Plaque with pride on the wall above my bed.

I told my Dad I hoped it would not fall and hit my head.

As we pondered the plaque and how big the threat is,

Dad said, "It all depends on how big your head is."

Anna Gram

Anna is my Grandma's name.

Now, some may find this comic:

Not only is she an "anagram", she's

Acrostically palindromic!

Mary the Poet

Mary wrote a little verse

It didn't even rhyme

This one's not by Mary

But it's very similar

Grandpa Was Santa

Grandpa was short and sweet and quite bereft of hair.

He loved Grandma, Hee-Haw, his dogs, and his chair.

On the CB, he was the Milkman and the mild-mannered fan

Of the college football coach and the dixieland band.

He was an Odd Fellow and a Granger, but what's more -

He was Santa Claus for a while at a local store.

He took care of us grandkids with milkshakes and walks

And I'll try to remember more of the talks

'Cause I realize now he was a role model bar none

And I owe him a lot, as the son of his son.

I won't regret the things I'll forget

'Cause the things I'll remember give pause:

Imagine my joy, now and as a boy,

Knowing Grandpa was Santa Claus.

Jennet X Peoples

[an acrostic sonnet, Sep 95]

[for Jennet Peoples 1956-1998]

Joining words into lines of life and death,

Esteemed by poets, readers, writers, friends.

Noting moral flaws with mortal breath,

Not bowing down to power's means and ends.

Engaging in the study of a shadow -

The darkness left behind by writer's pens.

Xpressing what we fear and what we know,

Peering through experience's lens.

Enjoying daily discourse with the cats

Or walking with and talking with the birds,

Pleasing mice and men with honest chats,

Loving cows in farms and fairs and herds.

Every word and every creature is her kin,

So lucky are those she chooses to take in.

Happy Birthday

6 Sep 2010, in honor of Grandma's birthday, 24 Sep (1914)

I felt old on New Year's Day

And a little uncivil on MLK.

On Valentines Day, I had no date;

Washington's Birthday felt second-rate.

On St. Patrick's Day, I was blue;

On April Fool's Day, I just said "foo".

Good Friday wasn't, Easter was dark,

Tax Day was taxing, Earth Day was stark.

On Mother's Day, I missed my Mom;

Armed Forces Day dropped like a bomb.

Memorial Day I plain forgot;

Flag Day was frayed; Father's Day, fraught.

Independence Day's chains I could not shirk;

On Labor Day, I had to work.

Columbus Day went far astray;

I felt hollow on Halloween and lost on Election Day.

Veterans' Day did me a disservice;

On Thanksgiving, I was ungrateful and nervous,

Pearl Harbor Day was not a hit;

Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa? Unlit!

On your Birthday, because of you,

I feel HAPPY - hope you do, too!

The Cousins Rule

A mnemonic re: Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA)

Sun 31 July 2011

Here is my "cousins rule" on how everyone relates:

Find your "most recent common ancestor" and count the older one's grands-and-greats.

Here is the other rule, if you are so behooved:

Count the generations between you, that's how far you are removed.

So, for example:

Jocelyn and Audrey's MRCA is Audrey's Grandpa R.

That's just one grand-and-great, and J and A are two generations apart,

So this conclusion can be reached, reviewed and approved:

Jocelyn and Audrey are "first cousins, twice removed".

And:

Jocelyn and Dex's MRCA is their Great-great-grandpa R

That's three grands-and-greats, and J and D are no generations apart,

So, although they might have dozens,

To one another, they are "third cousins".

(The cousins part is horizontal on the chart, the removed thing is up and down.)

Henry Lauver Rhine

Mary Emma Bay

Anna Raymond

John <--- first cousins ---> Audrey

Gretchen <---- second cousins ----> Ben

Jocelyn <------ third cousins ------> Dexter