Worldview

Sometimes I See Amazing
Things that Make Me Cry
by GC SMITH

Sometimes I see amazing
things that make me cry
the last piece of apple pie
when my adult son gets it

Sometimes I see amazing
things that make me cry
the azure Carolina sky
turned nasty pewter gray

Sometimes I see amazing
things that make me cry
whimpering puppy in the pound
with no child to take it home

Sometimes I see amazing
things that make me cry
macho men spewing vitriol
because they fear change

Sometimes I see amazing
things that male me cry
a newborn child’s smile
a new mother’s ecstasy

Sometimes I see amazing
things that make me cry
often tears shed in sadness
yet other times tears of joy

Tummy Pleasin'

Repast At Last
by GC SMITH

Aperitif

C’est magnificent
deserving of a kiss
green Flamingo flambé

Entrée

light broiled, ‘shroom framed,
basketed squirrel served so rare
as to still twitch and scurry

Dessert

A trois mélange
meringued armidillo toes, silk worm sake, hemlock tea
to salve the last gourmand impulse

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Shiverin’
By GC SMITH

It’s cold
down here
in semi-tropical
coastal South Carolina

There’s frost
on the roof
and a heat pump
that’s struggling

There's ice coating
salt marsh grasses
a phenomona never
seen before

I don’t own
a down filled parka
an ear flap hat
or insulated boots

Like a dog
trying to shit
a peach pit
I’m shiverin’

Meanwhile
know-it-all
politicians prattle
about global warming

Seems to me
penguins will survive
glaciers will grow again
global life will go on

Of course
my conclusion
depends first upon
not freezing to death

There are good people

The E.R. Tech (CNF)
By GC SMITH

The guy treated me with kid gloves, gently swabbing the gash on my forehead, staunching the blood flow. “We’ll get a Doctor in here in a minute.”

“Stitches,” I asked.

“Oh, I couldn’t say. The Doctor will have to decide that. He’ll get back here in a minute. I expect he’ll send you for a CAT scan. That's a nasty clout on the head.” He continued to swab blood, his ministrations surprisingly gentle. Finally he said, "I have to get to other patients. Here , press this against the wound." He handed me a thick gauze pad.

The Doctor’s “in a minute” stretched out and the E.R. tech looked in on me from time to time, checking to ensure I was no longer bleeding. Exchanging pleasantries.

In all I spent nearly five hours in the hospital and walked out with assurance that my skull wasn’t fractured and with seven stitches in my forehead. I was lucky, the twenty pound hunk of wood that fell from several feet above my head could have caused real damage. As it was I didn’t even have a headache.

While the Doctor was suturing I commented that the emergency tech who cleaned my wound was a helluva nice guy and competent. The Doc laughed. "Oh, Dudley, he’s a retired CFO and VP from Phizer International. He got bored doing nothing and decided to get back in the medical business, this time “hands on” he says. He’s the best E.R. tech this hospital has ever seen. Doesn't care if the emergency is a minor one like yours or mangled victims from a car wreck. Everyone he touches gets first rate treatment. We need a hundred Dudleys."

Wow, what an endorsement! The world would a much better place with a few more Dudleys.