The letter

My favorite word processor just blew up but I want to write this down before I fix that.

Oddly enough, my subject is writing. We call, text, i.m., email, Twitter and even blog to our family and friends, but when was the last time you actually wrote a letter? That’s right. Have you written a letter lately, or have you ever for that matter? I don’t mean tweeting about every lame event in your life. I’m talking sharpen up a pencil and put into words how you feel about someone. Yeah all that up close and personal stuff. Must everything be so temporary now? They used to write on the cave walls.

It really doesn’t take that much time out of our busy schedule, considering the time one might spend chatting with anyone who will listen. Need some examples for starters? How about “We’ve known each other a long time and I’ve never asked you this.” Another one might be “This is how much you mean to me.” Just pretend I’m writing this letter to you. Here are some first sentances.

Words do a poor job here so dig down deep into my heart and know that I love you like no one else.

It’s not God, family and friends, it’s God, family and you.

Only the time we have yet to spend together will eclipse the times we have had.

All I know is you are my friend, come what may.

Being with you can be a complete deliverance from the humdrum of everyday life.

Just knowing you exist is enough.

Time goes so quickly when we’re together, the opposite when we’re not.

Bring me your sadness and I’ll make you forget. Bring me your smile and I’ll make you remember.

I guess I’d better stop. One more?

The average heart beats 2.3 trillion times in a lifetime. Every time I see you that number goes up.

The Void

There’s a place inside each one of us
That cannot be denied
Escape is evanescent
Every time it’s even tried
And countless games of love
With which we toyed
They never filled the void
It takes some getting used to
Some days are not so bad
When happiness eludes you
But you’re not exactly sad
It’s the movie
That you thoroughly enjoyed
But it did not fill the void
So do we stand alone without connection
While caprioling silently through space
Or is it just the longing for affection
That keeps us coming back into this place
A strategy that need not be employed
It will not fill the void
The voice that whispers softly
The reason for the soul
When God’s love shines from deep within
Forever you’ll be whole
The earthly things so easily destroyed
Creator of the void

Jeff Hall
Archives

For Natalie

Above the lake when thunder break
To shatter peaceful silence
With lightning flash an angry cash
Of force rekindles violence
And down below where rivers flow
To wash away the soil
They tear away the rock and clay
Undoing all the toil
But deep within away from sin
And safe from subjugation
Below the bed of watershed
A mere of lost elation
Is waiting there without a care
And quietly reminding
That safe and sound you’ve finally found
The one thing that’s worth finding

Jeff Hall

June 2006

I'm Bored

Ever since I was a young man perched on top of the garage gazing at the stars, I have had the philosophy that no matter how dull my life may seem at the moment, there is a wonderland of playgrounds in searching for rocks, star gazing, people watching , toying with ideas. Well you get the idea. Just please don’t say those two ugly words. “I’m bored.” Okay that was three words. See there? One can debate the very words we speak, but one cannot be bored without being boring. There, I said it. But don’t let me bore you with that.

Thoughts are like seeds in a field. Imagination is the rain. Your faith is the sun. Put them all together and the possibilities are endless. I like the way the world sounds when it snows. The smell of fresh cut grass. My face in the running water. Toes in the cold sand at night. The taste of my first vine ripened tomato. Why am I talking in sentence fragments? I don’t know. Try walking on the other side of the street. Better yet get out in the woods by yourself and just be. Then come back refreshed and make someone smile. Don’t forget children and seniors alike.

My point is, there is a child in us that refuses to let things or people become commonplace. The child, who plays with a stick all day, pretends to be a spy and marvels at a trickling stream. Sure the car won’t start or the kids are sick or money quit growing on trees. The real world doesn’t go away. It just gets a little easier to deal with and believe in.

Paging Dr.Seuss

I was having chest pains, right where my heart is located. So I went to the doctor, and another one and another one. “Let’s perform an EKG and blood work,” he said. What did they find? Anemia. Eat something. “What we have here, is a failure to communicate.” – Cool Hand Luke.

So that called for more testing and more testing… because that only addressed hunger pangs. Cardiac enzymes were not present, but evidence of internal bleeding was. “Let’s perform a colonoscopy and an EGD- esophagogastroduodenoscopy,” they said. That was all clear for the most part. “Let’s do a capsule endoscopy,” they said. Remember the movie Fantastic Voyage? It was like that only I swallowed it. As Craig Ferguson would say,” I got nothing.” I had to have an x-ray to verify that the capsule “escaped.”

Oh wait. Chest pains you say. Okay “Let’s do a nuclear stress test,” they said and another EKG and a mammogram of the heart and a scan of some kind. More nothing results ensued. Well you see where this is going? Good, I don’t either. But now I am only waiting for the results of my insurance claims. The chest pains are gone. I did catch T.B. or something from being around all those sick people.

Well it wasn’t a waste of time. I got to have some fun. While in one of the waiting rooms I was asked if I needed help with something. My stolen response was “No thanks, I’m just waiting.”

"The answer my friend..."

The era of customer service is rapidly vanishing. That having been said, I have finally found a service that “just answers” my questions. It is called “JustAnswer.” How often have you clicked on one of those obsolete links like: Contact Us, Cust. Service, Feedback and so on only to get a response like “Here are some FAQ’s” to chew on or “Visit our forum” and talk to someone else who is clueless? Live chat is popular if you don’t mind asking the same question three different ways.

Here is the catch. IT IS NOT FREE. Yes folks, the mighty dollar rules again. You might have to spend actual cash to participate. But for $14.00, $18.00 or $30.00 they will attack your question like a bum on a bologna sandwich. If the first expert doesn’t get it then your question is escalated to a bigger expert. If they don’t know, then everyone gets in on the action. No answer, no pay. These aren’t just your usual Internet know-it-alls. They include Doctors, Lawyers, Vets and Mechanics.

My question was about Windows Media Player 11. Not all of my prayers are answered but I am well on my way to the healing process. And now that I’ve proven to be a paying customer, I will be treated like royalty because I was a “fun” person with whom to work. So next time you say out loud “How come,” you can read the excellent books by Kathy Wollard or you can visit www.JustAnswer.com. Just ask for:Molinari





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