Have you ever been to Florida

Have you ever been to Florida EXCERPTS FROM – The GroundsKeepers Notes ALL RIGHTS RESERVED COPYRIGHT – Jake D. Steele , Toronto , Canada Contact author for publication rights , host@authorsaudio.com _____________________________________________ Have you ever been to Florida ? A man is sitting on a park bench, its afternoon, the air is sun dry, hot but not uncomfortable, he is thinking of things , things like, the silky skin of a tomato, the speed of a hawk, the mood of the blues, the planets and their orbits, he thinks of, devastating winds that kill in a minute,… the serenity of holy Tibetan monks , he thinks about the phone bill, the cads in politics, mercenary soldiers who kill for money, murderers who kill for no thing, the fall of a sparrow or 15 minutes with a Pope who thinks he knows something you don't, or, feeling the photons hitting the skin and those amazing flowers that drink in pure love light to live, the perfect still night is a cape waiting for the fading moonlight to start another day …of office workers fighting to get to where they don’t want to go, and yes, I remember the days of the silvery milk wagons, with horses and real glass bottles, wet with the early morning air, did I tell you it’s 1933 in Argentina and did I tell you it was September, and Jorge Luis Borges is hitting a good typewriter hard, the splash of ribald ideas on fresh paper hit the streets, in the misty acrid atmospheres of the city of Buenos Aires, …the city of dreamers, the depression of the 30’s is here too, stale garbage, paint peels stretching out like an open wound, cracked sidewalks and buildings in disrepair, but the man takes no notice , A woman sits down beside him aloof and quiet, but its sunny and birds sing , time liquefies, suspends the moment, she takes a moment to arrange her clothes discreetly she crosses a leg, acts nonchalant and coughs, the man looks at her, but without any overt interest, Oh good afternoon Madame”, he says, “Yes” she replies sharply, He says ,“do you prefer sunny days with no clouds or a sky full of almost drenching rain, the kind that can clean every sidewalk, every street, sweeping away all our pain, we feel the cleansing of the soul of the city, this he asks, in an off hand manner, looking for his cigarette tobacco and rolling papers in his oversized pants. tobacco stains his right hand fingers , he stands to search for his pouch, Silence. no response, deaf air , “Its beautiful to share such a day isn’t it ? but she is silent, flat and unavailable. suddenly a flock of pigeons land nearby, the man pulls out a piece of bread and throws little bits into the air, the pigeons are flying all around , in a crazy panic, trying to get the bread the woman says “do you have to do this kind of thing here ? Why couldn’t you do that over there, pointing to the waterside, Well , I am sorry but I love birds, don’t you? “ Of course I love birds “…she says, who doesn’t? but pigeons are such scavengers and rude, “He replies , Flamingos are a strange bird too, aren’t they, but beautiful”, she lingers and says,, “ Have you ever been to Florida, the birds are amazing there “, however, I believe people are killing them now with garbage and chemicals, what is this world coming to, “sure”, he said , not even birds or the fish in the sea are safe anymore. and after that he thought , (I am really just looking for love, like anyone, like everyone else ) “ Maybe “ he says, “I'll have a chance with her after all “, a man must take some chances in life, especially with the dance of love. ________________________________________________ I come to you as a man with dust on his hands, the sweetness of victory in his heart and the weight of the world on his soul empty worlds have passed beneath my feet in my private pilgrimage to you you, the source of my other self, I drink you in like the wild rush of new sap in the flourish of a warm spring day we are wild and dangerous together I feel you through your clothes ,through your body Through the fire of want and reckless pursuit we are dangerous yes ,we act like passion was our own invention and play was the only game around, And as one thing follows another… I wait for the wind to change, a bird to sing, an open fire, a remarkable phrase, a miraculous birth a quiet country , relief from mercantile madness, the healing of one patient a brand new rain drop the orangest sunset the sound of pure sex love the last tango perfect pitch war is over and we know the replacement the scent of sweat and miracles the word familiar works well here I draw a good cigar I know everything is true _____________________________________________ ROAD WARRIORS We live in the space between shadows and light ...the atmosphere numbs the mind of mere mortals, we are dizzy, euphoric, drunk on a red Beaujolais high. We meet in a place between where the rain hits the road and splash hits the tires we are like ice, like time, we have been here forever ...everything fits, it has always been this way Far too many miles separate us, still we are together rolling through the night guided by stars, galaxies, universes on fire ...the heavens were made for this, we were made for this, we follow the whirling dust down a winding valley road a town in the distance suggests, comfort, digestion we may finally get some rest. in the moist sultry air we take off our clothes ...I love your naked body stretched out on this soft bed ,this is a luxury we deserve, we will call room service and run up a very large bill, was that red or white wine with dark or light olives ? we stare at ourselves through each others eyes, everything is alive, sensual the air is thick with our sweat, we are like a good black and white photograph with not so well defined edges, the light is cut ruthlessly, it is all or nothing at all for us. you say this place seems familiar ...I smell the cooking of fried mushrooms, rice and fresh trout, I hear a bad piano played well ... lets order another wine, Scriabin is delicious, but lets order a Duke Ellington on the rocks... we are oddities in this or any other town the locals are a little remote, they should know we have come to bless them ...Jesus, they may not be ready. the alchemists’ dream is our existence ...lead turns to gold in our hands, we are wild as an English garden of wildflowers, like bees bursting with the sweetness of honey our experience sticks to our hands Oh darling, these cyan colours of heated afternoons are pasted to a soft blue sky ...the wheat standing firm in the sun waiting to be cut clean, the telephone poles are so old they lean into yesterdays rumours, words of dry humour last not a minute ... evaporation does very well here, this evening of fire belongs to us and orange sunsets, silence restless fowl sit in high eucalyptus trees, the air is very still someone remembers Hemingway felt like this in Africa, the hunt is still on Ernest and we don’t want to miss the running of the bulls in Pamplona …life wishes for more halcyon moments like these. _______________________________________________ Come to think of it ... I am 50 years old , I am soon to be 51 . I have done nothing terribly wrong still I have not proved anything to an un-original world so now I guess the real challenge begins , I feel it the wrinkly skin , eyes ... not as good, I feel the shadows of the pasty willowy kids sprout out of suburban vacant fecundaties , limp wrists abound ...there are no jobs here , I am getting more deceived , more suspicious , I crap out with who .. the usual suspects , I suspect everything , …the water, the air, the experts, the road reports , the ozone, the radioactivity of nuclear power plants , you bet ! I hear a story that tells me to , " be calm , we know what is good for you and what is not " if I hear this ...I leave town immediately , I suspect you ,those who need to be right , you are the scary ones ,forget the chain-saws or the knife I ask , how can I fit in this space I am in , this very existance is sickening to my thinking So I surrounded them like Napoleon , I struck ... they fell , like so many castles built of sand , I hammered them into zeros til they returned into earth again , now it's quiet in the aftermath , the day was hot , but now it's just right ... some peace at last , I can breath , I can think , yes I can remember . them summery old days of June's quiet hums , the crack of life that snaps the umbilical chords clean ... sends Kundilini up the spine doesn't the water taste so sweet, isn't the sky blue forever , was it me or just the times tonight the sun will set lightly on a rising crescent moon swallowed by blue velvet , no permanence here ... I am drifting past midnight looking up at the stars ... they stop time , my troubles settle like the dust on a old dirt road like so many car lights winking out of sight my troubles disappear are they really gone ... no they just turned a corner , those cars will be back they just love the dust but just right now ... for a moment at least on this very long long dark road tonight ... the world evaporates , peace ... I am back now, this must be home sure , the bill's are hiding in my mailbox , they all have my name on them , somebody must love me , the neighbours dog barks loud .and nasty , who cares ... everyone sleeps through this Cigarettes - ( I have quit smoking them but ... ) Cigarettes are , smelly, stinky , horrible rolled up carcinogenic weeds that , when used properly cause coughing ,wheezing , shortness of breath , bad breath , poor visibility, awfull yellow teeth , heart problems , upset stomachs , high risk insurance , cancer , pollution , kills household pets and close family members , drains yer wallet dry all at the same time . I guess that's why I smoked them . If your going to have a habit it might as well be dangerous . I mean sure as hell , soon as I quit the roaches will be back * LOVE Is * All I know is if your in love, seek love, gotta love, wanna love or just love to love please …wear a helmet, carry a parachute , strap on the seat belt and for heaven's sake blow up the airbags. You will need all of this safety and face saving equipment. This thing is as dangerous as it is beautiful! It comes in many packages - platonic, agape, cling-on, lusty, mean, tender, open ended, open minded, completely ended and even deadly . Don 't be discouraged if you have never been in love, the jury is still out on whether this should be bliss or a Jack Daniel's moment! Naturally of course this emotional juggernaut should be well tempered with a judicious amount of grounding and sensibility to survive. Ha, …good luck, who has time for that? This thing has got you way down there where you live. Your tenderloins are turning you into that racy little nance you always knew you were, …life is a beach, enjoy. However lofty this magical period of perfect love is, in due time other basic realities sadly do leak in. Silly stupid things really like money, rent, kids , food, work ect. Unsavoury as these details may seem, they will likely need your full attention. You are not alone, many pilgrims have walked this track before and have lived! Fortunately there are hundreds of experts willing to set things straight. Think of them as a “lovers travel agent”. They are all heavy on experience (divorced once or twice) they know how you got there and sincerely care where you are going. Hopefully, straight to the store to buy one of their touchy,feely little books on how to get it right, …insight has a price. Personally I don't think I ever got it right …however I'm standing by with roses just in case. The Almighty - Big Love Take God's love for example, we know most love is a two way street . God's is. God's love is definitely tough love, it's long range big picture love . If God loves you you had better pay attention, he has his way of getting to the point! God's love, biblically speaking, is about ( blessings , warnings and curses ) sort of the carrot and stick approach . Jericho wanted more time, who dosen't, they were warned. But they gave no reply. Ka-Boom , was God's response . No Jericho no problemo . By the way , airbags do not really seem to help with God , as Churchill said " it's the kind of mistake you only make once ". * People Love Now with people things are a bit different. They often show up at your door looking like they just got off the "Love Train". They have lots of baggage you hadn't counted on . Sometimes it's OK to say wrong address, other times you say with Buddha like compassion, “sure come on in and stay awhile”. Unfortunately once they’re in your abode, your home ground has been compromised and you better have a way out, …for them. If you get in trouble and its not bed time, the line I like is “I am having dinner in 10 minutes with my co-dependents and they don’t like to be kept waiting”. Then grab their arm as you drag them to the street and dump them in the first cab you see …wave and keep smiling. You’ve won. If you sense this could be a problem beforehand, it's alright to talk at the door first, with the guard chain still on, lean in to the door, with a “not in my neighbourhood pose” listen carefully, crack a smile …but if you don't like what your hearing – slam and bolt the door FAST! Pay absolutely no attention to the winning outside the door or the cheap promises that things will be different, it won’t and you know it! This is not LOVE this is WAR , it’s your castle stay there. With any luck in an hour they will have moved on to another victim in another part of town. Space? Sometimes the other person will say “look, I need more space ". This may mean 1) your in the way 2) they are moving away or perhaps, 3) please stay away. I say, “space is something I can always give”. Listen this is very important, give them 10 times more space than they ask for. Most people get "lost in space" but then, that's what they asked for . In a little while you may enjoy the space to , maybe even better than they did . Oh, life is so ironic . There you have it. Love truly is the great mystery. I know everyone wants the "Real Thang", that deep universal connection that brings two people so close to each other that no earthy force could destroy it. If you haven’t managed that, don’t knock a good solid friendship based on shallow things like gossip, bingo and shopping . Or how about just a great romping sex life with someone who you deeply care about, physically, of course. What ever your choice, enjoy it, remember you’re a lover . Ka-boom! Sports ' Alzheimer's Quite awhile ago I unfortunately developed a new dysfunctional problem I caught from watching to much TV I call it, "Sports Alzheimer's". I could remember the scores but not the teams. Or, I'd know the team but be unable to discern the sport. In the frightning last stages of this crippling illness you finally actually go to bed not caring about scores or games of any kind. My doctor, who has had this illness, in an exceptional gesture of human sacrifice, made a house call which is extremely rare and with dramatic surgical precision, cut off both my television cord and cable wire ,formerly the two main arteries to my brain. I sat in ashen withdrawal as he explained to me never to stare into one of those boxes again. Apparently re-occurrence of the illness is almost completely incurable. Finally demonstrating absolutely no concern for himself he stayed on for at least two extra hours to help me polish off the remainder of my 24 beers and my last pack of Camel Plains. He was blind pissed drunk when he left, but being the edifice of human kindness that he is - unselfish in act and deed - he was gone probably on his way to visit yet another life threatened sports victim like myself . We are surely forever in his debt. TO A WOMAN WHO KNOWS ALL THESE THINGS AND MORE Never have my soft feet passed under these shady willows in the way they do on this day. I was too busy, to thoughtless or to dead to touch the kingdom of heaven lying under my feet I had to weep today for hours , no days ,… no, for the years I left behind without a clue of what occurred , without anything to show for my existence under the richness that was my life beneath the stars I had to weep today for the birds which feed and sing out side my window each morning , never asking fanfare or awards of praise in return; they were mine completely, I weep today when I remember that laughing eyed woman running by my house day after day to her job at the chocolate factory, her kids at home with jam and bread crumbs scattered over the kitchen table I weep with the thought of my mother waiting like a white rose of comfort when I came home in my child crazy years … in from school, in with trama , in with dirt, in with sweat and with a story of some minor school boy injustice hard on my mind . The days of too much the harsh side of the world, still she was there always there, my shinning angel of safety, to console to love me beyond reason. I weep in fullness within and without like the bursting of wild cherry juice into a starched white cloth … I weep with no hope of ever stopping nor wanting to stop as my tears run into your cup knowing the profound exceptional eternity I feel in this strange condition of wild abandon, this raging beauty has been too full to explain, to precious to consider it completely In this moment of eternal witness, in a wild garden of perfect pleasure, I will weep because …my love is here , because my heart does not run away, because my eyes though wet tears… continue to stare at the sun.