To paraphrase wording used frequently in these trying times, I am older than 60 and have a pre-existing condition. That’s right: I am a Monster Kid.
I took my three-year-old grandson, Elijah, for his first trip to the used book store in Fenton the other day, introducing him to the joy of finding books to read. He was delighted with his finds, walking out with three children’s books, including one about Batman, his favorite super-hero. He also found one from the “Froggy” book series, which were my other grandson’s favorite books to read when he was little (Froggy Goes to School, Froggy Plays Soccer, Froggy Goes to Bed, etc.). I would read them to him over and over again.
The poem above is one of the most beloved and well-known haikus in all of Japan written by Matsuo Basho, a master of the artform. The Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that reflects the relationship of nature and the Zen mind of the human condition. Haikus were created by Zen Buddhist monks and typically contain a total of 17 syllables shared between three lines of text. The English version of the Haiku systematically employs a 5-7-5 syllable line allocation. For example, the Haiku above has often been reworked in the 5-7-5 format to be:
The COVID-19 coronavirus spooked the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 3,600 points during the last week in February, and had large swings the following week.
Los Angeles is one of my favorite places to go for a long weekend. Everything about a visit to L.A. sings the sweet song of vacation – the sunshine, the beach, the other tourists scrambling about taking pictures. It’s a strange place, but a beautiful one and the perfect place to make an escape.
“Marty, I’ve got to tell you I love the first season of ‘The Irishman,’” Chris Rock quipped from the Oscar-night stage last month. His comment was ostensibly aimed at director Martin Scorsese, who from the audience good-naturedly accepted the ribbing of his 3½-hour gangster epic.
If you are really lucky and have a friend who is a teacher, they may just ask you to read to their class this month.
My partner and I recently visited Houston for the first time since we left Texas for Canada over two years ago.
