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September 29, 2008
At Least
Spinning in too many directions
trying to get away from my self
at least for just a little while
at least until next week
when I’ll be so gone
I’ll forget where I’m from
at least until I am on the way back
or at least until I make it home
when I’ll turn around once again
to figure out where I’ve been
and tell myself it’s ok to stay
at least until the next time
when I need to run again.
jak
Posted by jaselin at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2008
Carrots, ME News, Vol. 1, Issue 30
I was drinking my strawberry Dannon Activa, and belatedly decided to look over the ingredient list. Of course with my food allergies, I should always read the ingredients first, but never mind that. Although not a problem, I did find an interesting thing listed on there: black carrot juice.
So, my little finger tips went off on one of their keyboard Google treks, and the results are to be found within this month’s ME Newsletter.
PS. If Bugs Bunny had known about this, his famous tag–line might have ended up being, “What’s up with that, Doc?"
jak
Posted by jaselin at 04:29 PM | Comments (0)
Actress
September 24, 2008
I should have been an actress.
I tell people that I’m ok
And they believe me
I tell people that I’m
Happy this way
And they seem to agree
That I’m doing alright
As long as I keep
The tears out of sight
As long as I deny
I’d ever want more
From anyone
Ever again.
I tell people
I don’t need a thing
And I really don’t
except for maybe
someone to disbelieve me.
Posted by jaselin at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2008
Skow's, ME News, Vol. 1, Issue 29
Picked up 6 quarts of raspberries from Skow’s Organic Farm today. I order every year, and freeze then for enjoyment later, while eating the ones that get away of course. Skow’s on Ogden Highway in Adrian is an awesome place. Completely organic and yummy, and often huge produce. They pick or your pick..
Mr. Skow helped us out a lot when we opened up the Michigan Hot Sauce Club. Jeff would run by there in the evenings and he would sell us all his leftovers from the day. Tomatoes, onions, peppers, corn, fresh garlic, honey. We made some pretty awesome salsa and pickled green beans with dill and garlic, which he of course got to share in. Once we shucked, de-cobbed and canned over 82 ears of corn in one day. Some with peppers, some without. It was a very Green-Acres-eque experience for me. Didn’t know too much about shuckin’ or cannin’ corn when I started, but I’m a semi-pro at it now. That was one of those nights when our neighbors just shook their heads at what those wacky Kortes were up to sittin’ in the driveway shuckin’ corn by the moonlight. Most of them appreciated the fresh canned corn in the winter, though.
If you’re wanting raspberries, call Mr. Skow this week. The season is pretty short. 517-263-5579 9:00 am – 5:00 pm only please. Anyway, I expect my fingers will be raspberry red for a few more days. Buy from your local farmer, and enjoy the harvest!
jak
Posted by jaselin at 08:26 PM | Comments (0)
Get In The Car V: October 4 - 12, 2008
The Get In The Car 12 Over 12 fall program has been delayed due to the current hurricane season.
Due to immediate needs, GITC is now actively assembling one larger team.
Get In The Car 5 is headed to New Orleans, departing Saturday, October 4th & returning Sunday, October 12th.
We are prepared to take as many volunteers with us as desire to go
Team leaders are available to speak to groups and individuals.
More info can be found at: www.getinthecar.org or email jodi@getinthecar.org.
We are accepting donations for gasoline and food expenses.
Checks payable to: New Hope UMC, with "GITC 5" in notation line. Tax receipts available upon request.
Posted by jaselin at 01:00 PM | Comments (0)
0 to 60
My heart
goes from
0 to 60
swells up,
and slams
against
my rib cage;
it happens
every time
all because
of your smile
i thought this time
i might be wrong
that I didn’t remember
you correctly
but it happened again
just can’t look away
you must know
i’m staring
and that sometimes
my mind drifts off
into your blues and greys
with admiration and respect
and more than just a little
wistfulness, expanding
the risk, the want, the need
0 to 60.
Posted by jaselin at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2008
Slam
I'm
waiting
for
the
full force
slam
and
looking forward
to it.
jak
Posted by jaselin at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2008
DRTs, ME News, Vol. 1, Issue 28
Evenin’, everyone.
Another interesting week in our world, huh? I didn’t catch the name as I drove by this evening , but another PFC, this time from Battle Creek, made the DOT board this morning. Prayers for the family of this soldier, please.
What about Galveston? No doubt Galveston is in need. And there are people there helping. The American Red Cross mobilized volunteers to be in place before Ike hit . One of my co-workers received an email from another coworker deployed last week by the Red Cross first to Orlando, and then moved along to Texas. She said it’s not so bad sleeping with 150 other volunteers, and that they’re going through a lot of hand sanitizer. Prayers for these volunteers too, please.
Disaster Response teams are different from long term recovery teams. They are also referred to as “First Responders." These are trained specialists: fire fighters, social workers, nurses, clergy, electricians, doctors, loggers, heavy equipment operators. The first jobs involve restoring power and water, making sure buildings are safe, and moving large debris so other repair work can begin. Maybe someday I’ll have enough experience and bravery to join that elite group, but for now I’m secured to my role in long term recovery. Heart and soul.
Love ya. Be safe. jak.
Posted by jaselin at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
September 12, 2008
Skunk Season
You know that Michigan season between summer and deer season, that ripe 4 week period when you can smell the change in the air? Yup, that’s right. It’s skunk season.
Most mornings our van pool averages between 3 and 5 skunk incidents. They’re always dead, which is a good thing. Still, running over a dead skunk isn’t much fun, especially, if the critter didn’t have time to de-skunk before reaching their demise. That means if you can’t avoid it, you’re gonna squish that scent out all over the undercarriage of your vehicle.
Skunk season means a lot less uninterrupted passenger sleeping, due to having to periodically open all windows. This always makes it worse immediately, but then it eventually gets better; until someone in front of us decides to have their own scent event. I guess I’m lucky I’ve never hit a live skunk with a moving vehicle. I punted-kicked one in college by accident, but that’s another story. Actually, now that I think about it there were two college skunk incidents. The other one was dead soup. That, too, is another story.
Anyway, back to this story: about that evening I officially made the last moving trek into Michigan. On my final trip from Nashville, I crossed over the state line and squished over a real-live dead one. It was past midnight, and to keep myself from getting sleepy, I already had the air vents open and blowing full blast. So we got it in the fullest force possible. My dog gagged and threw up. I gagged and threw up. Through my blurred vision, I managed to make it off the highway into the official Michigan Welcome Center without losing consciousness. I stood outside the car coughing, and gagging and dry heaving, while my three-legged border collie/shepherd mix, Kelsey, looked at me like I was the biggest, meanest moron she’d ever met.
Almost every piece of clothing I owned was crammed into my little Volkswagen Golf, along with a rocking chair. What a way to be welcomed to Michigan. It took a lot of random phone calls to car dealerships, and mildew removers before I was finally referred to a dry cleaner in Lansing that had a huge de-scentifying “shed.� I was able to drop everything off there for a week, including the rocking chair and those upholstered parts of my car that were removable. It worked really well. As did taking Kelsey to the vet, and giving them the job of de-skunking her.
I hope I never have to use the Skunk Deodorizing Recipe that my friend recently gave me. But, just in case, I keep it in a safe and handy place… my recipe box.
Posted by jaselin at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)
September 10, 2008
With Sprinkles, ME News, Vol. 1, Issue 27
The breezes are a little brisker; the waters a little choppier; the apples just a little bit sweeter.
I’m thinking a fall festival tour is in order. Too early for leaves, yet, but that’s ok.
I vote for chore procrastination, and wanderlust indulgence.
And maybe one more summer ice cream cone, with sprinkles.
jak
Posted by jaselin at 09:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 08, 2008
Adversity: Written and Shared
I've had a lot of people asking me how, why, and when I find the time to do this thing.
So, I thought I'd address that this go-round. Guess what? In doing so, I managed to get a new perspective on my current place, re-evaluate some of my feelings,and learn a little something about myself. Thanks again for somehow turning the tables on me!
Adversity is an interesting thing...
I'd never really thought to define my life as one of adversity, but apparently it has been. Actually, all of our lives have been wrought with adversity, and will probably continue to be. From all the reading I've done on the phenomenon , it appears that without adversity none of us would have any character!
I’ve practiced writing my whole life; poetry, stories, journals. I wrote a lot about finding myself, being lost, searching, especially in my teens and twenties. I tried writing about love, but wasn’t very good at it. Perhaps, that was because I hadn’t experienced it. I wrote less as I got older. Maybe it was because my job was more demanding, maybe it was because relationships took more of my time, or maybe it was because I had nothing new to write about and just got tired of that.
I didn’t write much after I met my husband. I was too busy, too happy. I had no more questions about where I was supposed to be; I was already there. I wish I’d thought to write about the happy times while I still had them. Writing about them now is bittersweet and painful. I find myself laughing and crying recalling the hilarious, the deadly serious, and the everyday situations we found ourselves blessedly together in.
I read an interesting interview the other day. It contained a revelation that made me stop and consider its truth for me.
Country artist Gary Allen related a conversation he had with the late Harlan Howard, where Harlan told him, “that [he] could write, but [he] didn’t have anything to say.� After the passing of his wife, Gary says, “I guess I liked it better when I didn’t have as much to say, but now I understand what Harlan meant.�
I don’t know for sure that I have all that much more to say these days. I just don’t have anyone to say it to on a daily basis, so it ends up in my writing; newsletters, blogs, poetry, greeting cards, any way I can find to share the words I want to speak, but rarely have the opportunity to. It’s just not the sort of stuff that lends itself to casual conversation.
In the basic human design, we are all facing an end to our earthly being, and therefore we will cause and be caused grief. When losses occur, GOD gives us ways to cope with grief. After all, he gave us tear ducts and memories. HE allows us grief and grieving, which equips us to better help others who will inevitably be coming into grief at some point in their lives.
That’s a blessed cycle: working a flaw into a gift. I’m trying to use mine. I hope at least one someone understands that the pain is necessary for bringing us higher into HIS world. By attending others with more compassion than we previously had, and by guidance through their grief, we can offer healing and GOD’s love.
jak
Posted by jaselin at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)
I am not the hurricane
September 8, 2008
I am not the hurricane
I am the sunset’s brilliant memory
To keep with you through
The dark night ahead
Knowing that dawn will be coming
And another sunset will arrive.
I am not the storm
I will never take you by surprise
I will fade in and fade out
As needed in your life
To make you stronger,
To lift you up.
I am not the tidal wave
Coming to clear your heart
I am the gentle-winded flow
Cooling your fears
Taking your tears
Washing you clean.
I am not the hurricane,
nor the storm, nor the wave
I am the one
who will be for you,
quietly.
jak
Posted by jaselin at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)
September 07, 2008
Like You Wanted
It keeps coming back to you
how you changed me then
so I'd have the strength
to change me now.
I couldn't have done it without you
I never wanted to do it without you
and I've never had to.
You're always there
when a decision needs to be made
when a laugh needs to be shared
when I'm tired of my day.
You're always there
there's no way I'll ever let you go
there's no reason why I'd have to
when I can share everything we became
with someone new,
just like you wanted me to.
jak
Posted by jaselin at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2008
Light blue marble
God has thrown me down
before you
to see what I am
made of;
light blue marble
crystalline tears
cold, smooth, stunning
not what you expected,
me neither.
There’s the surprise
sometimes I see it
sometimes I don’t
sometimes I don’t know
what I want to see
sometimes I only see
what I want to.
It’s hardest when the words
come without warning;
that’s when they are strongest
and stronger than I am
as they find their paths
to you.
Posted by jaselin at 09:25 AM | Comments (0)