Tag Archives: Carol A. Stephen

Company for Lunch (poem)

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In response to a prompt at imaginary garden with real toads. Laurie Kolp’s challenge to write to the word miscreant. I saw a photo that Laurie had a link to that resonated, and just happened to work well with the word prompt too.

Company for Lunch

Just before noon our noses
find the source of wafting smells
fried potatoes and hot oil, a soupςon
of vinegar and salt, ketchup for non-purists
or non-Canadians. Chip wagon.

Chips (BE), French fries (AE), French fried po...

Chips (BE), French fries (AE), French fried potatoes (AE) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We order our usual medium fries, salt
and vinegar at the half-full point,
then another generous scoop of hot
potato, fingers of starchy yum.

Trail of Crumbs photo Credit: L. Kolp

My brother’s serving overflows, he drops five
leaving a trail of crumb-gulls,
french fry hawks and other
feathered miscreants to squawk
and hover, a flurry of wings as each
tries to steal a treasured prize.
In thirty seconds, no trace of spill remains.
A wary truce as birds move off to
wait for the next free lunch.

Carol A. Stephen

August 11, 2012

No-Comfort Zone Week ending Aug. 5

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Surprising how quickly things change when life throws the unexpected into the mix. This week my thoughts are with my friend, who cannot join me on the restart of the CHIP program Instead, she will be looking after a friend who has a terminal illness. Girl, I am thinking about you, just so you know.

And yesterday received word that another friend’s daughter, not yet fifty years old, has unexpectedly died. So I am thinking about her loss today also.

On the one hand, the grief one goes through over a longer period of time as an illness progresses. On the other, the sudden grief of the unexpected and immediate loss. Neither way is really easier or more bearable than the other, I suppose. As I try to empathize with someone else’s loss and their grief, I always come back to my late husband’s battle with heart disease that was taking him slowly, and then the car accident that, even so, cut his time short. But I have not lost a child, so I cannot fully understand the way that feels.

Still, my thoughts are with both of my friends today.  I wish I was able to offer more comfort to each of them. Wishing both strength and peace.

Carol

NO-Comfort Zone week ending July 29

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So last week, I was a bit down due to eye stuff, but this week beginning to bounce back a bit. First off, I was invited to be one of four featured readers at Hot Ottawa Voices, Aug. 14 at Tree Reading Series in Ottawa. (I am hoping to release my second chapbook that night too!)

Second, I went to see my family doctor who told me I am doing wonderfully with my blood sugar control. That’s good news because it takes away the guilt I was feeling last week. So the eye things are not something I could have avoided by staying off chocolate and ice cream (well, perhaps, if I had done that twenty years ago!) So a friend and I have gotten together to form our own little support group and to get back on track with our CHIP program. That is the Complete Health Improvement Project. We tried it out a couple of years ago, and it worked well, but I think neither of us were as committed to becoming vegans (or at least vegetarians, or even flexitarians) as we are now. However, over the five weeks last time, I lost 7 pounds, dropped some points off my blood sugar and cholesterol levels and cut way back on animal proteins in my diet.  The CHIP program was developed by Dr. Hans Diehl, from Loma Linda, and you can check it out here: http://www.chiphealth.com/

Diets in Review gives this program an excellent rating. http://www.dietsinreview.com/diets/chip/

Hot Ottawa Voices – Readings by four Ottawa Poets – Tree Reading Series Coming Up on August 14th!

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The Ottawa Arts Court. Formerly the Carleton C...

The Ottawa Arts Court. Formerly the Carleton County Courthouse, the building now serves as Ottawa’s municipal arts centre. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Tuesday, August 14th, I have been chosen to read as one of four Hot Ottawa Voices, along with David Blaikie, Guy Simser and Shai Ben Shalom.  The event takes place at Tree Reading Series, Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue, Ottawa. 8.p.m.

This is such a great opportunity! Thanks, Tree!

Before the readings,  at 6:45 p.m.  there’s a  free workshop:

Pearl Pirie

Pearl Pirie (Photo credit: pesbo)

Pearl Pirie on Radical Revision.  For more information, check out the link here:

Readings – Tree Reading Series.    Hope to see everyone there!