Volunteering

May 13, 2013 ~ kjgilhooly ~ Leave a comment

Volunteering is a wonderful human trait.
You help others for no expected return.
You do feel good about yourself.
More importantly, someone gets helped.

Someone could be a person or an animal.

I live with a volunteer, in fact.
Anything needs rescuing?
Anything needs cooking?
Anything needs watching?
Anything at all?
She’s got it covered.
She’s on it.

This can be quite painful.
I am the spouse of a volunteer.
The military term is “in the cross-fire.”
If anything goes amiss, I will hear about it.
I may even be blamed for it.
If nothing else, I will be impacted.
The military term is “slight negative impact.”
Like a bomb hitting the wrong house.
Oops.

This seems unfair.

So many people do good in the world.
Some do a little, some do a lot.
There are lots of people needing help, as well.
So, maybe it’s time to let someone new step up.

So, I beg you (again.)
The next time an opportunity arises.
The next time you can jump in and save the day.
Do one thing for me.
Shut up.

Genius

May 12, 2013 ~ kjgilhooly ~ Leave a comment

My wife is a genius.

She adopted a dog.
(Rescue, don’t buy.)
She is a crazy dog.
Doesn’t listen.
Doesn’t behave.

So, she needs training.
Lots of it.
More than a normal dog.

Or …

(Here’s the genius part.)

You adopt an even crazier dog.
Now, the crazy dog seems almost normal.
Yay, wife!

Observation

May 6, 2013 ~ kjgilhooly ~ Leave a comment

My wife is like a daqueri.
Sweet, intoxicating,
Providing great pleasure.
Then, usually a headache
Down the road.
(Just kidding, Sweetie!)

Vacation Packing

April 21, 2013 ~ kjgilhooly ~ Leave a comment

It’s vacation time at last.
The tedious part is the packing.
Women start this three or four days early.
Men start when the taxi pulls in the drive.
This is not the only difference in the sexes.

Women need three or four outfits per day.
Morning, afternoon, (afternoon tea), evening.
Men need one pair of pants for dinners, shorts for day.
Maybe an extra shirt per day in case he gets sweaty.
Maybe.
(Hotels do laundry, you know.)

So, women need about one suitcase for every three days.
This is why in college, when I picked up a weekend visitor,
She had a steamer trunk.
It took up most of my Mustang.
My arms still hurt.
(She did look nicely dressed.)

Airlines charge for extra luggage.
I’m getting my checkbook ready.
This is a ten-day trip, so my wife
Will have a ton of luggage.
Literally.
(Eisenhower had less for D-Day.)

I have my carry-on.
I have more electronics than clothes.
I’m ready.

Tears at a Funeral

April 12, 2013 ~ kjgilhooly ~ Leave a comment

I’ve seen a lot of death lately.
Three family members since Christmas.
Plus assorted friends and acquaintances.
This is not helpful for the psyche.

Funerals have a guest of honor, but
The guest doesn’t ever say anything.
This is the difference between a funeral and other occasions.
At least, the guest doesn’t have to give a speech.

If you look around at a funeral,
Almost everyone in the room is crying.
Everyone knows why – sadness.
Really?

I used to think everyone was missing the guest of honor.
However, now I think rather differently.
I’m not happy about what I’m thinking now.
This is also not helpful for my psyche.

Some people don’t cry, because at some point,
Somebody told them that crying was bad.
They are suffering inside, and crying would fix this.

Some people are caught up in the moment,
Just like crying at a wedding or sports victory,
They are crying tears of peer pressure.

Some people actually miss the guest.
They assume “he’s in a better place.”
They cry tears of loss and hope.

Some didn’t bother to say “goodbye”, and
They had unfinished business with the guest.
They cry tears of loss and disappointment.

Some are named as beneficiaries, and
Never knew the guest thought of them.
They cry tears of loss and joy.

Some are named as beneficiaries, but
Not to the extent they would like.
They cry tears of bitterness and disappointment.
They don’t have time to suffer loss.

The chosen few are executors.
They will carry on with paperwork
Long after the guest is buried.
I think they cry the most of all.