after hours of insomniac hell I slipped off to sleeping bliss until a screaming blasphemy jerked me back to consciousness with no rational thought no lingering guilt I slammed the insolent alarm off! I’d paid my dues with lack of sleep and conscience free I snuggled deep ah-h-h I so love my sweet cocoon wake me with the next full moon tio stib You might also enjoy: Passwords: The Comfort of Complacency
Dan Chen was obsessed with two things. Time and numbers. When he discovered computers, he began to explore probabilities and statistics which led him to research the numbers associated with human lifetimes. Once we are born, how much time do we have to live? His research had brought acclaim in university and several insurance giants had offered him prestigious positions in their actuarial departments. But Dan had another idea, an idea that had made him a millionaire The LifeTime Watch, an innovative device that worn on one’s wrist, not only displayed the time of day, it also showed how long you had to live. Dan had created a program that integrated human body metrics such as pulse rates, body temperature, sleep time and stress levels, along with environmental sensors including air quality, temperature and humidity, as well as an active internet connection that monitored local and international weather, economic and political information. All this data was fed into a unique analysis program based on thousands of human life statistics to produce a current estimate of one’s actual lifetime expectancy. It had taken Dan years to perfect his program and then produce the prototype LifeTime Watch, which had been tested on real people for more than two years. And it worked. The LifeTime Watch was 97% accurate to years and months to live. Millions had been sold. He was nicknamed Timeman. But Dan’s obsession continued. Now he and a select group were beta testing a new model that would bring this same statistical accuracy down to days. Dan was checking the new Lifetime watch as he walked along a busy San Francisco sidewalk. He was troubled by the anomalies. What about the 3% who beat the odds. Did they have something in common? He stopped and looked around at the moving mass of humanity that had flooded outside for the rare summer sunshine in downtown San Fran. Who was going to live today? Who was going to die? He looked down at his watch. He shook his head, that couldn’t be right. He looked again. The display was filled with zeroes. Zero years. Zero months. Zero weeks. Zero days. Dan’s watch said his lifetime was… Failing to notice that the traffic light had changed, Dan had walked out into the busy street. He never saw the bus that hit him. Moral: Time stops for no man, and sometimes buses don’t either. tio stib You might also enjoy: Control Freaking; Life Journey Poems & Prose
Superman was thinking, something he’d been doing more and more of lately. the calls for his services had dropped dramatically. The super hero market was flooded with up and comers and his agent was even having difficulty booking him for high school graduation ceremonies. He wouldn’t miss those, lately kids had been smirking, whispering out loud when he flew onto the stage, “who’s that old fart!” He had to admit that is image had been slipping. Looking down at the form fitting costume that hid little, he grimaced at the site of the belly paunch that had been building around his middle. He ran his fingers through his thinning hair, remembering that this was Grecian Formula day, needed to keep that gray hair out of sight. His buddy, Batman, didn’t have this problem. Heck, the guy was bald now, but his hooded outfit with the cute little ears hid his shiny scalp. And some of the others weren’t doing so well either. Wonder woman’s hair had turned white. Spiderman was getting acupuncture treatment for his ailing joints and Captain America had dentures. Some of his old friends had disappeared. What had happened to the Phantom and Flash Gordon? And what did these new guys have that he didn’t? And who came up with these names? elastoman? the Hulk? Are these names you’d turn to when the world needed to be saved? things had changed, time had rushed by, and he now felt outside it all, on the edges watching life go by. His phone alarm rang. He looked at the text message and sighed. Mrs. Donnelly’s cat was stuck up in a tree again. He wished lois Lane hadn’t given the old lady his cell number. Oh well, he thought, knees creaking as he rose, just another day in the life of an aging super hero. Moral: Everybody gets old, even super Man. tio stib You might also enjoy: Life in Reverse by George Carlin; Life is Like a Broken Egg
cotton soft brilliant white floating puffballs in an azure sky cherub faces laughing playing tugging at my soul the little boy smiles dragon wings swoosh and we escape flying free across a land of dreams so much more than partly cloudy tio stib You might also enjoy: Lines; Control Freaking
the mirror of life stares back at me
a history of those times once free
the many men I’d tried to be
the many worlds I’d longed to see
so many new realities
I lived in hopes of finding me
some were good and some were bad
there were happy times and sad
joyful moments and some quite mad
questing for the dreams I had
some lasted days, some only hours
some grew from seeds to lovely flowers
but then the moment finally came
when each went up in spirit’s flame
was I born a vagabond
to never settle down for long
to never truly quite belong
heart pulled on by distant song
lovers, friends, and passersby
I’ve known them all
said my goodbyes
but now, as I face the end
I wonder if I’ll fly again
the caterpillar exists to eat
the pupa then goes off to sleep
and in its sacred, silky place
transforms into a different face
and so I build my new cocoon
as life within me starts to swoon
in hopes that with the coming moon
I will stretch my wings once more
and fly away to distant shores
so begins my every day
shape shifting in the cosmic play
tio stib
2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022
You might also enjoy: Paddling a Submarine vs. Living an Authentic Life, A Friend Passes
do I miss her laughing voice yes my heart cries out straining to hear her call in the silence do I miss the rose petal scent of her softness yes each breath aching to know her once more do I miss the way she tossed her hair her playful smile that said I’m beautiful do I miss her reaching out to take my hand to dance with me in blissful oneness yes always with every heartbeat but most of all I miss her whispering as her lips touched mine mio tio stib You might also enjoy: The Memory of a Single Rose; My Dementia Diary
I want to help them give advice make them think I’m smart and nice but then I hear a wiser man listen first to understand I want to brag shout what I’ve done make them want to cheer me on but then that wiser man again listen first to understand no, I don’t always heed the rule neediness makes me play the fool but in the quiet of evening light I look back and know what’s right listen first to understand and I will be a loving man tio stib You might also enjoy: “If” by Rudyard Kipling; Life Journey Poems and Prose
I don’t see it in the clear blue sky romping gaily on my way no hints, no thoughts, no memories just a perfect day but then a shadow passes by and suddenly I give a sigh and darkness sweeps across my soul and loneliness exacts its toll tio stib You might also enjoy: Life Journey Poems & Prose; My Dementia Diary
they are human mockingbirds instead of songs, they mimic words nothing pretty, nothing nice nothing new the same old vice always males who want attention spouting nastiness I cannot mention they yell and scream they cry and shout when things go south they sulk and pout let’s make a rule that changes things and tell the pols they all must sing no talk like feathered songsters on my walks tio stib
You might also enjoy: The Hummingbird; The Comfort of Complacency
she never questioned never paused simply poured her endless love into my life now she sits without her mind and I give back tio stib You might also enjoy: My Dementia Diary; Symphony vs. Stanza
Travels with Tio 