Poems of Tears II; More of Emily's Poems

Christmas
This is her first christmas without him.
There is an empty spot at the table.
Family fall into silence as their eyes fall on the chair.
Nervous coughing,
No one knows what to say.
She weeps silently,
They turn away.
A single smile stands among them,
His five year old girl.
They ask why she is smiling and she says,
"Dad's having Christmas with Jesus.
I bet he's saving us cake."
The crowd break into smiles,
Their happiness returned.
Her mother sits at her chair,
Watches her little girl.
She dries her tears and a smile lights her face.
She whispers to herself,
"I hope it's chocolate."


Uniform
Tears of sorrow litter a dead man's coffin.
Cries of anguish are their lasting song.
No one moves,
As the dirt piles higher.
An eight year old girl,
saying good-bye.
Dressed in black,
Her eyes a contrast to the sea of darkness.
Bright blue.
Bright with tears for a man she barely knew.
Always gone.
Never there.
All she had ever seen was a man in a uniform.
His picture on her wall.
Her mother's tales had filled her head.
She belived he was invincible.
She belived he was coming home.
He did... in a body bag.
She remembered the day,
so clear in her young mind.
A sunny afternoon,
outside on the steps.
A grave mailman,
a letter in hand.
Then came her mother's tears.

Across time and space stands a man and his wife,
They sit cold and still in their living room.
A picture on the wall.
A young woman in a uniform,
she can't be over twenty.
Her ashes are in the clay pot next to the photo of the smiling girl.
Her parents kiss it goodnight.
Not a sound is uttered except for the beats of two broken hearts.

All across our country,
their cries of sorrow echo in our ears.
But you close your hearts.
Can you not hear them?
Can you not see the words written on the stones.
R.I.P
Rest in Peace.
The uniform they once wore proudly,
is the cushion for their bones.
So many die.
So many weep.
A loved one is always left behind.
Why?

Lions of Munich Take flight; Christmas 2005

A Photo tour of the city's lion's population.

Enjoy

SSG Oz

Lions of Munich

This weekend I spent an excellent weekend with Daniel (remember him from branding?). He had invited me for Christmas with his family in Munich.

The travel down was via DB, the German Train System. I spent about 6 hours travelling, shuttling across Deutchland on a variety of different trains, finally arriving to see Daniel's familiar grin welcoming me to his city.

His family speak pretty good English, so we got along fine. We spent alot of time talking about Daniel in Montana, and then switching back to various topics, including music, war, Australia, wine and life in general.

Harriet his Mom, and his Dad Armin are both Judges in the "Palace of Judges". They showed me around where they worked, pointing out various patches of history, particulary the missing buildings tha were destroyed during the last world war. It seems very clear that Germans are proud of their heritage and want to be remembered more than just Hitler, and are very reluctant to want to go to war again.



















I saw a great part of the city from the seat of a bicycle, keeping up with Daniel on his single gear "girl's bike", while I rode his Dad's more modern version. We later ran around the river section of Munich, enjoying the quietness of after Christmas, trunching through half melted snow and swan droppings. Christmas itself was both familiar and totally different. We went to hear Daniel sing in the choir at the local church where I was introduced to several neighbors and friends against the toiling clamor of the bells, ringing for us to worship. I was suprised to see lots of young folk who had at one time or other ventured off on an exchange of their own, from countries such as Australia, France and Iowa.

The service was familiar, in that it involved hyms, a Christmas tree and a message. I could only tell you that it was about Gott (God) and involved Christmas. The language was sometimes a barrier, but mostly people were very polite in explaining the words to me. I was happy sometimes to just blend into the woodwork at times, and let people forget that I was English speaking, and to absorb the German language through osmosis.

The rest of the trip was equally fun and great. To cut along story short I went with the family to a Hungarian Operette courtesy of the great Ponkie, renound movie critic; had caviar and potato salad and sausages for Christmas Dinner; received lots of chocolate and cookies, and drank buckets of good wine. I got them a smoked Alaskan salmon and some Aussie wine for Christmas.

All in all, I value the memories and look forward to building more as our paths cross in the future. Thankyou Armin, Harriet, Lion, Daniel, Marie, and Lawrence, and Ponkie too. You enriched my memories of Germany and renewed my spirit with your friendship and kindness.

Oz

Germans Don't Lie, Smoking Kills

Now this is a Health Warning
SSG Oz

Holiday Ball La-De-Dah

Christmas Ball 2005


ISIS

























Ninemagin Mates


















AMY
























Friends from Work



















Brandi, Bettina, Melissa, Isis, Jo























Stephanie Louise and David




















Daniel and Riann


















Melissa and Chad

























ME

Cop Quotes

The following were taken off of actual police car videos around the country.
Enjoy
SSG Oz

"Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."

"Take your hands off the car, or I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

"If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

"Can you run faster than 1,200 feet per second?In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of a 9 mm bullet fired from my gun."

"So you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"

"Yes, Sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh .. did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"

"Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."

"The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"

"Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and step in monkey poop."

"Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."

"In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."

"Just how big were those two beers?"

"No sir we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."

"I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."
And the best one . . .

"You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't. Sign here."

Army Cartoons

Click on the cartoons to enlarge them
















These are pretty Cool!
SSG Oz

Another Round of "Words to Live By"

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
* Never buy a car you can't push.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box."
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

STEER WARS: The Saga of Noche the run-away steer

Emily chose to show a steer this year. This is a photo essay on moving a steer.
Enjoy
SSG Oz

Moving Noche to the house paddock

The struggle

Noche wins round one

Caught again

A moment of prayer

Round two, crossing the bridge
Noche does the Harry Holt


House paddock? No we meant the creek paddock.

Welcome to Shannon's House; Shannon's New Blog

Shannon is getting into the action. Stay tuned for pictures, comments and links from Shannon's House.

Enjoy

SSG Oz

Poems of Tears; A Collection of Poems by Emily on Life, Death and War

Winter
Slowly as the snowflakes fall,
yet another bird makes one last call.
Snowladen branches waving in the breeze,
The faded grass waiting for the freeze.
Sunlight fading,
Darkness growing,
The church bells have ceased ringing.
Cold winter nights, curled by a fire,
Our need to be close is growing dire.
Every book, twice, we've read,
We're tired of laying in bed.
Once it's started, we wish it only to stop.
Where hats adorn every top.
Cars and slush,
Snowballs of mush,
Voices carry through the hush.
No birds singing,
Only sleigh bells ringing.
Winter comes and goes,
But we feel it through our toes.

What is Death?
Death is a blessing and a curse.
full of nothing like a hole in a broken heart,
and full of everything like a woman's purse.
Death may find you wherever you go.
No one can hide,
No one is safe.
But safe from what?
What is death?
A blessing the old and sick,
Who have waited so patiently.
A curse to the young and sound,
Who have so much to live for.
Death is a tool to the evil,
and a puzzle to the good.
What is death?
It is a cycle,
As is life.
Moon and Sun.
Night and Day.
Good and Evil
Water and Land
Light and Dark
Life and Death.
It will go on forever,
and forever we die.

Dogs
You hurry,
but it comes faster.
You fall,
but they don't stop.
Your small band of seventeen doesn't have time to help a child.
They're running for their lives.
You hide among the roots of an old tree,
waiting desperately for the end.
Heavy breathing is coming closer.
You close your eyes,
waiting.
The hot breath is on your face.
You open your eyes.
It's a dog,
cold and alone.
You hug it to yourself,
Relief flooding your veins.
You hear gunshots and the screams of those who left you behind.
Once again you wait for death.
But the soldiers move away.
The dog has saved your life.

It is both neat and scary to read these poems. Neat to see Emily changing, and scary to see Emily changing. I like how she puts feeling into tragedy and death, two sad occurences that we will all one day face.
Enjoy
SSG Oz

Seasons Greetings From all our Pets

Enjoy your Christmas, click here
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=0279309843
and follow the instructions.
SSG Oz

The Nanny; Chapter two; By Emily

Sara quietly walked behind Daniel, studying the small eleven year old. Daniel could feel her eye on the back of his head. Daniel decided to break the silence and put a little fear into his new nanny. "So I take it you don’t know the stories?" Sara shrugged. "Guess not. Care to tell me?" Daniel smiled a sinister smile. "One time I let lose all the bats in this zoo, right into my nanny’s hair." Sara giggled and put a hand over her mouth. Daniel stared at her. This was going to be hard. "The other time I pushed one of my nannies of the ride and she fell into a pond." Sara was shaking with laughter, while Daniel fumed. "Why is she laughing?" he though to himself. Daniel decided to be quiet, lest she think he was trying to make her smile."

Outside in the garden, Daniel was climbing a tree and Sara was sitting not to far away reading her book. After 6:oo chimed for Diner, Sara stood and made her way to the tree. "Time to go, Danny." Daniel frowned. "I’m not coming down. Ever." Sara shrugged. "Ok." She went over to chat with the Gardener, Matt. Daniel watched her go, surprised. After about twenty minutes up in the tree, Daniel was getting hungry. Hopping down, he walked over to Sara. She looked at him surprised. "Thought you weren’t coming down." Daniel shrugged, "guess not." Inside Daniel was furious. What was wrong with this girl? What would it take to send her packing? Sara and Daniel made their way into the dining room, luckily, Mr. Tynerial was late also and had not missed them. Daniel watched Sara carefully. Plans already forming in his mind ..........

"Guess where we’re going." Said Sara, pushing Daniel into the limo. Daniel growled, arms crossed, "Where?" Sara beamed happily. "The Army Base!" Daniel rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Sara hugged him warmly. "It’s so cool!" Daniel watched the scenery from the window. He was used to hugs now. It had been almost a week since Sara had become his nanny and nothing he had tried worked. Frogs in her food, fake bugs in her hair, faking his own death to scare her, nothing work! You name it, Daniel had tried it. He had even placed a huge bird spider in her bed. She hadn’t screamed, she hadn’t killed it, she called it the cutest thing she had even seen and now "Muffin" had her very own cage on Sara’s dresser. Daniel was tired and had decide to behave on this trip... to give a false sense of peace, Daniel mused. Finally the limo pulled up into the Base. Sara and Daniel, now know as Danny, walked up to the front desk. Danny could hear the limo pulling away. "I.D. Please." Stated the officer. To Danny’s surprise Sara pulled out an Army I.D. card. After being checked she hurried into the base, Danny in tow. "How do you have an Army I.D.?" Danny asked Sara. Sara didn’t answer, instead she ran up and hugged a man. Even Danny could tell that this was the General. "Dad!" cried Sara happily. The General hugged Sara back. "Hello honey. Where’s your friend?" Sara pulled Danny forward. Danny shook his hand, Danny’s father and the General had met before. "Say, Aren’t you Daniel Tynerial?" Danny nodded. "Wow Sara, you didn’t tell me that this was your client." Sara nodded, beaming. "He’s so nice! He gave me a pet spider!" The General raised an eyebrow at Danny. Danny looked at the floor sheepishly.Sara didn’t notice, "Come on Danny! Paint ball is waiting." Danny stared at Sara. "Paint Ball?!!?"Sara smiled and pulled Danny with her over to gear up.After three hours of the best field trip Danny had ever been on, Sara and Danny both called it quits. It was about four in the afternoon and after putting away their gear, Danny was ready to sit down. But when he reached the parking lot there was no limo to be seen. Only a small, blue car. When Sara jumped in, Danny was even more surprised. Sara turned to look at him. "Well, Get in." Danny slowly opened the front door and slid into the seat. Out on the road, Danny asked Sara, "Where are we going?" Sara smiled and pointed at the large D.Q. sign for Dairy Queen. Sara pulled the car into the parking lot and they both went inside for ice cream. They took a seat back in behind and sat back to talk. "What’s your favorite color, Danny?" Danny thought for a moment. "Red. Yours?" Sara laughed. "Blue." Danny thought about it and finally said, "It goes nice with your hair." Sara held up a lock of her long, blond hair. "Thank you." It was a long drive back and the only thing they could do was talk because Sara’s radio was broken."Tell me about you, Sara." asked Danny after they discussed the weather. Sara smiled and said, "When my dad was in the Army we moved a lot. Probably eight or nine time in my whole life. The last place was Montana. In a small town near Ronan. That’s where I finished high school. After that I went to college to become a artist. Right after a graduated my mother died and my Dad moved here. Since I was unknown to the creative world I moved too and got a job with you." Danny sat listening to her story feeling extremely guilty. He had always not cared about any nanny he had before but looking back he realized that maybe they too had a background. They pulled up to his Father’s mansion and walked inside. "Night Danny. I’ve got to go feed Muffin." Danny nodded and crept to his bedroom for it was almost eight and Danny had to get up early tomorrow.

Christmas Cartoon Collection I

As the Editor of this blog, I get to direct the often bizzare humor that prevails through these pages. Nothing too mushy here, though I occasionally have the odd sentimental moment. Here are a collection of pretty funny, and yes, bizzare Christmas Cartoons that though are not Gary Larson, are not too shabby.
Enjoy
SSg Oz

My German Family

Over the last 12 years we have made friends with alot of German visitors to the Ranch. Here are some of the members of our extended family, which I hope to visit again before I leave.

Enjoy SSG Oz

Daniel on the Farm












Tim and his folks
























Judith and her great family

THE NANNY - Chapter one A Story by Emily

CHAPTER ONE:
Daniel Tynerial stood atop the fake, plastic hill of the amusement park ride called Army Shells. In the ride toy soldiers shot at each other with small guns. Daniel was on the ride with his 50 year old nanny, Ms. Kendal, when he climbed up onto the ride’s bank and grabbed one of the guns and started shooting the other toys. This was extremely childish, something a five year old does because he doesn’t know better. That is true, the only problem is the Daniel is eleven years old and knew he would get in trouble. In fact that is why he did it.

Hours later, in the Park’s security room, Daniel sat on a bench waiting for his father who was talking to Ms. Kendal. Neither voice sounded happy. Suddenly, after a loud boom from a slammed door, Daniel’s father walked calmly into the room. Mr. Tynerial’s face held no emotion, yet Daniel could tell his father was angry. "This is the twentieth nanny you have managed to cause to quit. "I’m very disappointed in you Daniel." Daniel shrugged and looked down at the floor. "As if that’s not enough, this is the twelfth theme park you’ve been kicked out of!" Daniel didn’t move or talk. After five minutes of silence, Mr. Tynerial opened the door. "The limo is waiting. Don’t wait for me. I have to cover this up." Daniel quietly rose and walked out to his father’s limo. Daniel’s father was the owner and head of a huge and successful computer company and never had the time for his only son. After Daniel’s mother died in a car wreck, his father and Daniel grew more and more apart..................................................................

Daniel sat, swinging his legs over the beautiful pond, outside his father’s huge, million dollar mansion. A loud clang caught his attention to the front gate. A young, woman in her early twenties walked to the double doors of the mansion. Figuring her to be a business partner or something he ignored her and continue to skip rocks. He was only mildly surprised to be called into his father’s study, but wasn’t fazed by the young woman from earlier in the room also. "Daniel, meet your new nanny." Daniel stared at the young girl in front of him. "Was he kidding?" Daniel thought to himself, "She’s young enough to be my sister!" Out loud, he said, "Hello, Miss...?" the woman smiled. " Sara Belnet." Daniel nodded. "Well Miss Belnet..." Sara cut him off. "Sara. Just Sara." Daniel stared at her for a moment. No one had ever asked him to call them by their first name before. "Ok...Sara. I hope you like it here." And with that he turned and went to wait in the hall. Of course all that "hope you like it here" junk was for his father. He planed to scare off this nanny as fast as all the rest. Daniel sat down and listened to the two talking in the next room. "You realize, Miss Belnet, that you are taking on a big job here." Sara’s answer was almost directly after that. "How much trouble could one boy be?" Daniel smiled and said softly to himself, "Famous last words."