The First of Many

 I

The flakes of the first 2026 storm sugar coated the tree branches

The snow of the second storm, came by inches, the first of many

On the way to Boston to incorporate as a Town, Essex was 

changed to Franklin, after Benjamin, becoming the first of many

The kissing number of 1 dimension is 2, of two dimensions is 6

Of three dimensions is 12, the relationship is only the first of many

The Town’s letter to Benjamin requesting a bell to ring in his name

Became a gift of books to the library, lending the first of many

“All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust”

The relationship between dust and imagination is the first of many

Horace Mann voraciously read those library books to start his 

journey, creating a free public school education, the first of many

  II

In the days before social media apps took over, email and

Personal conversations were how information was passed, the first of many

James Nason developed a better coffee percolator capturing

The aroma before it escaped, obtaining a patent, the first of many

The idea to capture that aroma was born during the Civil War

Exactly how that invention came about is unknown, the first of many

Franklin did bring several dimensions together once, in 2007, to pass

The first operational override, which could have been the first of many

Alas, neither the stars, nor the sides, have come together since then

Hence with each failure, the resulting budget cuts are the first of many

Could the Mass 250, or the World Cup, or Franklin's own 250 celebration

serve as the impetus for creating civil unity worthy of the first of many

So Sherlock, be ready with note taking, reporting, recording, and sharing

To help keep the community informed on this journey, the first of many

Thoughts of it

  I

The sound of one hand clapping, 

Or a tree falling in the wood

Where no one is near to hear it

The sound of a flower opening 

Or footsteps crunching snow

Shovels scrapping ground below it

The sound of a page turning

Thoughts, images, leaping and

Hopping, racing all around it

The sound of a body wiggling

Softly stretching, or dancing

To the music as she feels it

The wolf moon rises shining

Shudder to imagine the howls

That echo when he realizes it

Art is creating and making

Something new or repurposed

There is a reason to be it

  II

The handy spatula scrapping

Along the inside of the glass jar

To get the last, and all of it

Post deluge, raindrops dripping

Through the downspout

Persistent rhythm of it

Success results from planning

Sweat as much as luck makes

What is adjacent possible for it

The single act of creating

Making anything substantial, or not,

focuses your attention on it

The sound of humanity making

A ruckus, or exchanging something

Wet and wonderful, tops all of it

Artificial stuff can be revolting

but we can return humanity

Back to be at the center of it

So Sherlock, we can't go scrolling

Trolling, lost among the detritus; 

Reach out, hands together, we'll live it

The living room

I

The balsam pine visited the corner of our living room

Bringing colorful lights and ornaments to the living room

Colorful lights helped to counter the period of darkness

As days grew shorter, casting less light into the living room

Various ornaments shared bits of memories, places visited,

Times of life, milestones, all within reach in the living room

The irony of the evergreen tree once outside in fullness of life

Cut and carried in to stand in the corner of the living room

The evergreen drank heartily for several days, then stopped

There was still water in the tree well in the living room

The pine needles once flexible became pointy hard

And started to fall covering the tree apron in the living room

  II

The annual ritual to undo the decorations, place the ornaments

Safely away until they'll be brought next year to the living room

The angel on the top of the balsam is the first one on but the last 

One off as the lights are unbound from the tree in the living room

The strings of light are coiled and returned to their containers

For storage until next year when they come to light the living room 

The balsam is removed from the stand, carried back outdoor

To await the curbside pickup, leaving empty space in the living room

Vacuum and other cleaning elements are found to clean up

The trail of the tree out the door from the living room

When the cleaning is complete, furniture can be rearranged 

To fill in the empty space where the tree visited in the living room

So Sherlock, will you ever get an artificial tree to make all this

Easier? No, there must be room for life in the living room

Finding the light

  I

Routine, not rote, is rooted in our pattern of life and when the pattern of light

is changed, interrupted, anything can happen when finding the light

Amazed by how the youth are so eager to share their favorites, their delight

On your phone call not understanding the call may not be a screen finding the light

Plastic whistles, given to the old & retired folks, they have the time to watch alright 

And wait, and react, blowing the whistle when ICE vehicles are spotted finding the light

Folks wondering, how low can he go, don’t they remember the limbo dance right?

“Do the limbo rock, how low can you go” he plays no game, a dangerous trend finding the light

Transparency, a funny word for what one wants to see but can’t usually it's so bright

train of thought goes its way, observation of events leads to connect the dots finding the light

Poetry can break the guardrails built into an Artificial intelligence, no copyright

like chatGPT. Yes, poetry. I love that, yet concerned about finding the light

  II

How about using old fishing nets to create a safe zone against drones that stage fright

Apparently a new thing happening in Ukraine to make passageways finding the light 

A new nonprofit foundation created to fund efforts to encourage stoplight

time away from screens, walk a labyrinth, non-tech solution for finding the light 

Local performing company revises a classic tale incorporating pop songs, playwright

updates the storyline, mention of 6, 7 creates unexpected excitement finding the light

What is it that generates the viral win, right place, right time, or some floodlight

Has someone ever discovered the repeatable secret to finding the light 

In the cross of two shadows, there lies a darker diamond, as in the depths of chromite

there penetrates a force more constant than the moon finding the light 

“Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window” Let the sunlight

illuminate the words that you cannot find to help you finding the light 

So Sherlock, that painting’s not real, in a world with AI, it is harder to be right

Know what's real, or what’s Memorex, so revert to basic humanity, listen for the whistle, find the light

Quote from the lyrics to "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7k0a5hYnSI

Random thoughts

Random thoughts

More stream of conscious 

There is something serendipitous about them more so than random

If you understand the adjacent possible, and listen, or really pay attention

The items that come along are not so much random, random indicates haphazard

But adjacent items become possible when paying attention

Kinda goes back to my “bingo theory”

Folks recognize the game of bingo, mostly seen these days as fund raisers

You buy a card or two, use a stamper or marker of some sort

And when the caller, announcer reads out the ball from the drum

B22, C4, D13

You see if it is on your card and mark it joyfully if it is

When you get a row, horizontal, diagonal, vertical, you get a prize for bingo

I started putting together that navigating daily life as a life long learner could be described that way

I found that if i heard about something, ok, that’s nice

And then sometime again, oh, I did hear that before

And perhaps either that day or very soon there after

Hear it again,  well then there must be something there

And when you follow that thread, lead, you open up a door to other

Possibilities, they now are adjacent to where you are 

In the realm of possible, that wasn't before

A multidimensional chess game, with complex moves, 

or so lost, you can't get there from here

The road maybe straight or winding, but it is purposeful

When you follow the triggers, follow the bingos as they occur

Multiple conversations recorded or otherwise over a period

All serve to have more info available for this conversation

The possibilities are adjacent, which ones will you explore

The interview with 2 psychologists was planned

As we were preparing before starting to record

Reviewing the process, what we’re about, small talk reveals

It is a small world after all

Draws back upon one of my internet buddies favorite sayings

“You’re only a stranger until you start talking”

Once you do, you tend to find out how much you do have in common

Moving about this world, in each our own circles of life

Without knowing of the other, until 

Finding low tech or no tech solutions to problems

Especially when created by high-tech 

The link shared with the reminder for today, 

where poetry can break the guardrails built into an 

Artificial intelligence, like chatGPT

yes, poetry. I love that and yet am concerned about it

How about using older fishing nets to create a safe zone against drones?

Apparently a new thing that is reusing old fishing nets in Ukraine to provide

Safe passageways from the drone attacks

A newish nonprofit foundation created to fund efforts 

Time away from screens. Org    or TAFS.org/

To help youth (and adults, we are equally at risk) of too much screen time

With the access or instigating to walk a labyrinth 

The benefits of walking meaningfully, exercise is accepted

Less so perhaps, the mental health aspects

So I am looking for more things like that

Looking to expand upon what is adjacent and hence possible 

Variations on back it up

  I

When you get to a place and can’t go forward, back it up

When you get to a point with poor choices, back it up

If the choices were only the easy way or not the

Road less traveled, back it up

If the choices were the only same old

“But we’ve done it that way”, back it up

If the choices were not fully explained

Or fully thought out, back it up

If the choices were only between a rock

And a harder place, back it up

That is if the prior choices put you in a place

Where you could back it up

  II

If the choices were between the lesser of multiple evils,

Accept the challenge, suck it up

If the learning is hard and bruising,

Absorb the lesson, suck it up

If the trials are either long or short

Take in all of the lesson, suck it up

If the road is curvy, lots of switchbacks

Guess what, slow down, suck it up

If you leave something behind

Forget about it, suck it up

If the page lies blank, face it squarely

Trust the words will come, suck it up

So Sherlock, this doesn’t sound like advice on 

aging boldfully, where did "suck it up" come from

Reflections upon a gift of conversations received from a friend called necessity*

*With apologies to John Tobias

During that autumn 

As the leaves started to 

change color and fall

Creating a carpet of crunches

While the temperature remained summer like 

But without the thunder storms to 

Roll thru and break the heat

Even if momentarily 

While the drought monitors crept higher

And higher, inducing restrictions 

On outdoor water use

During that autumn

Which definitely was 

created by the biennial election

There were multiple conversations 

And the conversations ruled

Schedules to coordinate

Times to agree upon,

Zoom info shared, then connecting

Sound check, 

background check,

Lighting check,

Find the button and we're on

How to get at the questions

Folks wanted answers to

Without being so direct,

Abrupt, or unfriendly

We created the context,

The setting, neighbors 

Meeting neighbors

Some closer than others

Some we'd met before

Some we hadn't yet

Until there, virtually, we were

Together to get their story

Their point of view 

Recorded to share

Wind down to a close, 

then editing, Cut this, 

queue this, upload that, 

Send this, wait for their response

And when the recording 

was approved, it was

Shared, some more widely than

Others, somehow that is always

The case, some candidates generated

more interest by being new

Less familiar than the

Incumbents whom folks seem

to know enough of

To not need anymore

When the recorded conversations 

Came to a close

Other conversations began

Folks following up with candidates

Candidates following up with

Each other, making the meet &

Greet circuit, making the rounds, 

To address all the questions,

Provide all the answers

On the website, the pages 

Are rich with links

To the conversations, 

Video and audio, 

Along with historical data, 

Info on what was done before

And may need to begin again

To further the conversation

And become closer neighbors

Than we were when 

the conversation started

When the biennial election is

Over, the results tallied,

Perhaps they'll be a new set

Of folks at the table

Now with the task of

Providing oversight

To our Town, our services

Which we need, some of us

more than others

And so by necessity 

This autumn the conversations 

Continue, neighbors with neighbors 

To find the solutions

That can be possible