So, What's New Today?

 

A new day and something worthwhile to say.

Being disabled and shut in, my contacts will

not be face-to-face. I shall again rely upon

photographs I had taken in previous years to

provide images for me. Memories mean a lot,

my friends, more than money can buy. Let me

brew a fresh pot of coffee, and reaching across

time on Facebook, I shall share some of those

people and places with you. Best part of my

current situation and yours is I am where I am,

you are where you are, connected by the tech-

nology of today. Years ago when many of these

images were captured, who would have guessed

we could shared our mornings together in such

a way. Take your time. Should you need cream

and sugar in your coffee, go to your kitchen and

get some. I take mine black, and I can wait.

Bet you couldn’t guess I didn’t wash up this

morning, and I’m wearing the same clothes I

wore yesterday. This photo of me was taken

several years ago. Still looking good, eh?

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 4-8-2021

Go Figure

 

I know the signature of John Hancock

when I see it. I am tuned to detect the

sound of a Back fugue when I hear it.

I can pick out you face marching by

in a parade. I have learned that tigers

will bite and claw when cornered and

kittens purr naturally. I know clouds

form before the storm. Shoes will

remain securely in place on the feet

when properly laced. Nitrogen casts

a blue hue in Earth’s atmosphere. I

know what I know and know what

it takes to stay alive. Compasses will

always point to True North. Four of a

kind will beat a Full House every time.

There are rules, my friend, which will

always need to be applied. Mistakes

and excuses will be made. Not every

thing which is lost can always be re-

gained. Peter Piper picked a peck of

pickled peppers. Mary, Mary quite con-

trary, how does your garden grow?

A goddamned green thumb, or so

I’ve been told.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 4-6-2021

The Production

 

Got a call from my physical therapist at the VA

several days ago. She wanted to set up a video

conference with me. Yes, Monday, April 5^th

at 10 AM would be fine, I told her.

She told me to be prepared to walk 10 feet so

that she could observe me. Fine, I suppose, I

told her. I’ll have to set up the right angle on

my computer, and use a cane or walker allowing

me to maneuver for you to see. Fine, she said.

10-steps, I wondered why that number? What

would she be able to tell from that? It would

be much easier to tell her, even 10-steps will

hurt like hell.

Then again, I suppose my impression of hell

might be different than hers. I could set fire to

my place and walk through the flames. At least

that way, I’d get my point across.

Were I capable of making the production using

CGI, it would be a far more dramatic illustration

of what hurting like hell really looks like. (You know,

9- steps, not so much; 11-steps, a hell of a lot more.)

Anyway, I eyeballed the whole thing, and unfor-

tunately from a production standpoint, I can

probably only manage 8-steps before hitting

the wall.

I got it, an Academy Award Performance…

I can picture myself now, a close up shot,

cigarette dangling from my lips as I say,

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all

the world, she walks into mine." But then,

I tend to be a bit over-dramatic about such

things.

                      -30-

Chris Hanch 4-5-2021

The Birthday Card

 

Tomorrow is my 74^th birthday.

Hard for me to believe that I

have come so far in life,

knowing what I now know

and considering everything

I don’t. What a circuitous and

tangled journey it has been.

Anyway, my son visiting me

yesterday gave me a silly birth-

day card. It pictured a scabby

old man sporting a straw cow-

boy hat, smoking a big old

stogie, wearing a short-sleeved

shirt and faded blue jeans.

Instead of a horse, he was mounted

upon a bewildered looking donkey.

The caption inside read, “It’s your

birthday—sit on your ass all day if

you want to.” An appropriate punch

line which just about anyone could

have guessed even before opening

the card. You’d think Hallmark

could have been more creative

than that.

Amusing, however. That old man on

the cover of the card could have been

close to my age, but really did not

resemble me. That scruffy old ass,

though, it did look vaguely familiar.

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 4-3-2021

From Beginning to End

 

Often when I sit down to write, I will

come up with a fitting last line before

I even begin.

Then my mind as to build a captivating

beginning, an appropriate middle bridging

to the last line with which I began.

It’s like having a solution to a problem

which has not yet been posed. The

architect reveals his plan for the tenth

floor without having rendered the lower

floors which need to come before.

It’s a nice view from up here. I’d best

build a foundation which led me to such

heights before I try to describe the view

to you.

Words, I must find the words to

complete this floating puzzle piece

of mine, words which allows others

to see.

I could say I’m suspended aloft in

a helicopter, I suppose. Let’s you

and I start all over again, this time

from the beginning. I was flying high

one day…

                -30-

Chris Hanch 4-1-2021

A Modest Measure of Faith

 

I don’t get invited to parties

or dinners anymore. Wouldn’t

be able to attend even if I did.

I’m strapped with disabilities

brought on by old age and self-

inflicted abuses over the years

which have eventually caught

up with me.

I have become reclusive and

somewhat anti-social you

might say. I think a lot about

the way things used to be for

me getting here to my cloistered

place in time.

I have seen lots of faces, been

to many places in my day. I

wasn’t all that popular back

then anyway.

In any case, given choices and

circumstance, people tend to

go their separate ways. Have

to face it, life goes on with or

without you.

Socially, I never became a house-

hold name. Today, I manage fairly

well okay on my own. I keep my-

self relatively busy with my basic

daily activities—reading, writing,

listening to music, watching TV

and taking care of a small dog

who faithfully shadows me around

the apartment.

I call my son on the phone everyday

to let him know, for me at least, every-

thing is relatively the same.

Now this may seem pathetically

lonesome to many of you who get

out and about in your lives. Some

may say, this is no way to spend

hours in passing on that inevitable

path to the grave.

But I still manage to maintain a

modest measure of faith with my

inimitable style of thinking. Keep

it up, I say. You just may get lucky,

imagining yourself all the way into

tomorrow and yet another day.

              -30-

Chris Hanch 3-31-2021

Who, What, When, Where, Why and How?

 

Who? Was neither you nor I

but some other who.

What? I have no idea what, but

it’s got to be something what.

When? Had to happen a time ago,

I’m thinking way back when.

Where? Not here, but possibly

over there is where.

Why? Likely because of who, what, when

and where is why.

The question should actually be, How in

hell should I know?

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 3-28-2021