Today Perhaps a Change

Today was the day I designated as the day some

changes were to be made. I conceded that for me

most definitely, there was room for improvement.

Even so, one comes to the realization there is a lot

which is out of my control. It’s months before election

day, so I must wait to vote a sick and dangerous Pres-

ident out of office. However, I am not about to let that

discourage me. there are still some remidies left me

until that critical exercise can be applied.

There is that pile of dirty laundry waiting for me to

break my procrastination streak. Unenthused by that

option, I recon there are still some unpleasant things

which can again be further delayed. After all, tomorrow

is another day.

Besides, should I pass away today, clean shirts and

linens would serve no immediate valued purpose

anyway.

Some time ago, due to aggravated physical limi-

tations I gave up many demanding tasks which

I had performed in years past. I have come to let

some things go, acknowledging that I can now

live with many of those.

And dust gathers perpetually with tenacity each

time I attempt to wipe it from the surface of my

reality. So, what’s the use? No, must resist biting

off more than I can chew. Keep it simple and man-

ageable, I reassure myself.

Wait a minute, I realize, I have no one to consider

or answer to in my old age. There is only my dog

and me to please, and mostly she prefers consis-

tency over change. I tend to trust her instincts

and judgment in matters such as these.

Things are just fine as I live and breathe. And by

her wagging tail, I can tell my pup agrees. Stay

satisfactorily situated right here in my lap, girl.

Change will occur most naturally when I have

to get up and go pee.

                              -30-

Chris Hanch 7-24-2020

Nate's Crown Liquor

I was living at The Tower at Speer in Denver,

a government subsidized apartment for low

income people. It was a decent place as those

places go, good management and maintenance.

After separating from my wife and having moved

from place to place from Denver to St. Louis and

back to Denver again, I was in one of my daily

heavy drinking periods. I was alone with my two

dogs, and just wanted to make it through the day.

I was uninspired by my art and writing at the time.

A cold and snowy February morning and half an

hour before its 9AM opening, I slogged the four

block distance to Nate’s Crown Liquor on Santa

Fe to purchase my alcoholic fix for the day, a fifth

of E&J Brandy, a decent drunk for the cost.

I waited across the street in the heavy snow-

fall as a line of desperate alcoholics lined up on

the sidewalk in front of Nate’s.

Funny, the cold and snow didn’t deter me from

exposure to inclement weather, but I’d be damned

if I would be seen lined up with a bunch of hope-

less drunks.

When they opened, I waited a few extra minutes

for the crowd to clear, then I made my way into

the store.

The woman behind the counter recognizing me

as a daily regular, smiled and asked, “The usual?”

I pulled out my wallet, handed her a tenspot,

nodded my head, yes.

She knew I was like all the rest of her early morn-

ing customers, an alchy with either a hungover or

the DTs (delirium tremens).

I suppose I was okay with her knowing that I was

one of “them.” Hell, I had a drunk to get on, and

she had a business to run.

                              -30-

Chris Hanch 7-23-2020

The Haircut

My pup got a haircut and some professional

grooming yesterday. She’s four years old and

for those years I gave her a scissors cut. The

groomer asked, how did that look? I smiled

and said, not bad for a guy who has no sense

of style.

But it’s Summer and hot, about time she got

a good cropping. When the groomer was done

using the electric shears and all the tools of

her trade, I had a completely changed pup on

my hands, resembling nothing like the shabby

dog I was used to.

It was a good thing even though her new look,

like her hair, would have to grow on me.

I got to thinking about me personally with my

full, long and bushy beard. I’ve had it for some

forty years now. And I am sure that folks who

have known me since then wouldn’t recognize

me had I shaved the fuzzy thing off. It has been

the main feature in my appearance and identity

for a good portion of my life.

I could just imagine a couple of guys on the street

who had known me previously pointing me out,

one of whom makes the comment, “Say, isn’t

that old…? No, couldn’t be. He has a full beard.

That one there, though, is sure one silly looking

son-of-a-bitch.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. My pup is still cute,

and I figure with a few weeks growth of hair on

her, she’ll be looking a damn sight better.

                            -30-

Chris Hanch 7-23-2020

hodge podge cookery

here, i’ll show you

no recipe required

a pinch of this

a dash of that

no measuring

cut and chop

dice and mix

some of that

a smidge of this

knead

pommel

punch

toss

and rolll

bake at 350°

for 60 minutes

stick a fork

in me

i‘m done

take a chair

and join

in a

culinary

concoction

the bittersweet

life of me

bon appetite

           -30-

Chris Hanch 7-20-2020

Time Piece

Some twenty years or so ago, I gave up wearing

a watch. Had no need to keep time, and had no-

where in particular to go anyway.

Besides, my wrists were thin and the damned

thing kept sliding up and down my skinny arm.

Never could afford one of those fancy bejeweled

Rolex’s or Breguet’s. A cheap $20 Timex was more

my speed.

Ah, but those were the days when people would

stop you on the street and ask you for the time.

Thanks to everyone owning smart phones and such

nowadays, the glory days of simple watches are long

gone.

I figure after reaching a certain age, anyway, you’ve

either got lots of time on your hands or you’re running

late, and time is running out.

And with one of those highfalutin fancy watches

one is more likely to become a victim of crime.

Then too, of course, there are those complicated

Chronograph and smart watches which keep ac-

curate readings of ocean depths, tides in Jakarta,

times zones around the world, phases of the moon,

measures your heart rate, your blood sugar level,

indicates your position globally and such.

For me, it all became too much. You see, I am a man

of piety and simplicity.

And, why should I be reminded of my ridiculously

skinny wrists as I check my watch 10, 20, 30 times

a day when at my age there’s not a hell of a lot of

time remaining for me anyway?

                                -30-

Chris Hanch 7-21-2020

I Thought Minor

Thoughts only matter if you

do something about them, you

know, make changes, do some-

thing you want or need to do.

Otherwise, thoughts are just

there to entertain or merely to

occupy the brain until some-

thing more useful comes along.

When I’m feeling small, I like

to make more of me than I am

in reality.

And when I’m feeling full of

myself, I think of of the Cosmos

and the immense magnitude of

it all, trillions of stars, billions of

galaxies.

And I am put in my place, one

of seven billion human beings

occupying a minuscule space,

as Carl Sagan once described,

"on this pale blue dot, a mote of

dust suspended on a sunbeam."

So many thoughts, so many stars,

so many to be discovered, yet to

be named.

This one I call, Cogitava Minor,

(I thought Minor), a star among

the trillions ever imagined which

outshines no other.

What would you expect from a

mere layman who as a boy failed

Latin twice in high school?

Why of course, I used Google to 

translate. What were you thinking,

another Einstein, maybe?

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 7-21-2020

Some Relief in My Old Age

No more honking the horn, no middle finger

hoisted and waved at the driver who cut me

off.

No more stuck in traffic on the Interstate with

only minutes left to get where I’m supposed

to go.

No more sudden swerving to miss hitting the

gigantic pothole in the road.

No more running the stop sign and seeing red

lights flashing in the rear view mirror.

No more sputtering stops, out of gas halfway

to my destination.

No sir, no ma’am. I consider myself to be a

fortunate man no longer associated with the

driving lot of idiots,

     lucky in my tottering,

         stumbling,

            pedestrian

old age, knowing that some of the frustrating and unexpected

surprises in life (along with many unsavory memories) have

summarily faded away over time.

Finally, I can wallow in my state of old age knowing some peace

of mind.

                                               -30-

Chris Hanch 7-20-2020