Public Posts Stanwood, WA Stanwood, WA (zoom)

I no longer care
about my ineffectual ability,
to accomplish anything.
I sit here, writing and ranting,
about my absurd behavior.
What is wrong with me?

I feel I can no longer,
can control my emotional
reactions to what life has
wrought to my wife and me.
Especially to her, a good soul.
A terrible situation is what I see.
My thoughts rattle through
this old, feeble brain.

A slow descent into madness.
On the road to a life of sadness.
What or why remains the question.
I ponder how our life has fallen
this far into a state of personal
oblivion.

Is this the punishment for some
indiscretion or just fate.
Can't be God's will, can it?
What just God would do this?

Friends for a long time, shun us.
Yet we have friends who still stay
in touch. Even family contact has
deteriorated to the point Ellie is
seldom talked to. There are polite
gestures, but no meaningful visits.
On the other side, one son is
devoted to seeing his mother,
at least once a week, with few exceptions.

Many new residents,
many new faces,
from around the country,
close to their children.

How difficult it must be,
after years in your own home,
to pick up and move across
the country.

Old friends are gone,
new ones to make.
I see many lost souls,
wandering the facility.

Aging at its finest.
Turkey neck or wattle,
Chicken legs,
Pot belly (oink, oink)

Getting old
has wonderful benefits.
See above for just a few
of the specialties for us
so called elderly.

She tripped the light fantastic,
as she stumbled on the stair.
Watch your step, we said often.
She didn't hear. She didn't care.

"While most love songs are inspired by the joys and heartaches of romantic relationships, love between friends can be just as intense and complicated. Many people struggle to make and maintain friendships, and a falling-out with a close friend can be as painful as a breakup with a partner.".. " More at The Conversation ➜

Zetong Li on Unsplash

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

A nearby star has exploded and humanity's telescopes are turning to monitor it. The supernova, dubbed SN 2023ifx, was discovered by Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki three days ago and subsequently located on automated images from the Zwicky Transient Facility two days earlier. SN 2023ifx occurred in the photogenic Pinwheel Galaxy M101, which, being only about 21 million light years away, makes it the closest supernova seen in the past five years, the second closest in the past 10 years, and the second supernova found in M101 in the past 15 years. Rapid follow up observations already indicate that SN 2023ifx is a Type II supernova, an explosion that occurs after a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel and collapses. The featured image shows home spiral galaxy two days ago with the supernova highlighted, while the roll-over image shows the same galaxy a month before. SN 2023ifx will likely brighten and remain visible to telescopes for months. Studying such a close and young Type II supernova may yield new clues about massive stars and how they explode.

Photo by Craig Stocks

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856 – 1924) The 28th president of the United States, He changed the nation's economic policies and led the United States into World War I in 1917. He was the leading architect of the League of Nations and was awarded the 1919 Nobel Prize. He suffered a paralytic stroke which left him incapacitated for the rest of his second term in office, causing the worst crisis of presidential disability in American History. Eventually, the 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, allowed for constitutional measures to deal with temporary or permanent incapacity of the President in office. Britannica