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...or we don't.

2/20/2017

Comments

 
Linda and I were both feeling down as we stood on the balcony looking out at the city. We talked about maybe going out somewhere tomorrow. It might cheer us up. "It's as if we were all dropped down here out of the sky," she said, "with just our brains and our hands and nothing else. We either make things happen for ourselves or we don't." Yes. That's it. We looked out there. The city was humming away.


Comments

An actual woman to a man...

2/19/2017

Comments

 
An actual woman to a man is kind of like an embodied definition of femininity. She's not just something that's attractive. She's the half of him that's missing. But she's not actually that: she represents it. It's just a feeling but it's a fulfilling one.


From Facebook: likes...4...Paul Hoy, Cambridge N Calvin Keenan and 2 others
Comments

To read the Facebook comments, press "Read More" below...........................................

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Comments

On this Valentines Day... 

2/14/2017

Comments

 
...here is a kiss to everyone I have ever loved, to everyone I have tried to love and failed, to everyone I have felt affection for or wanted to, everyone I had compassion for and also to those I expressed it, and to everyone I tried to do something for, whether it helped them or not, even, or especially, to those I briefly thought of trying to help but didn’t, and also a kiss to the people who felt some affection towards me, whether I knew it or not, even to those who might have, if they had known me, and to those I might have loved had I known them, the millions.
Comments

I like her quirks.

12/13/2016

Comments

 
This morning it went like this: Linda was putting on her pot of tea, which she needs to wake up with. She suddenly frowned and said, "Oh dear, I hope I've got enough tea bags left." She looked in the container she keeps them in and said, "Oh, there's only two left." She looked through other containers and found one more. "Well, three will have to do."

I said, "Do you need that many for one pot of tea?"

"Yeah, I do for decaf tea. Decaf tea bags are always really weak."

So that got me going about the two methods of making decaf and that maybe one takes more flavour out than the other but then again most decaf is of coffee and not tea and we've only seen one company in the grocery store with decaf tea haven't we so maybe you don't have any choice.

While I was talking, Linda had suddenly crouched down on her knees and was fishing around on the floor under the buffet. She pulled out three little stacks of white muffin liners. I started laughing and when she looked at me curiously I said, "How did you know those were under there?"

"When I was sitting in the chair over there yesterday I saw them."

That was so perfect. I said through my chuckling, which I couldn't stop doing now, "You're such a visual person that when I start talking any little visual thing is way more overwhelming than what I'm saying."

She was smiling too, "Yeah, that's just words." And then we were both laughing, her in my arms and me kissing the top of her head. We're such a funny couple.


Facebook likes:...18...Linda Elaine Lucas, Scott Alderson and 16 others
Comments

إبراهيم أشعياء عوض Awww Linda and Stan, very nice, wish my neigbours to be likeyou! Wish everyone to be in 💘 instead of war!
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 13 December at 13:42

Alan Leangvan Try herbal teas. They don't contain caffeine.
Like · Reply · 13 December at 15:06

Stan Burfield Yeah, I've suggested that. But for her, in the morning, it's got to be regular tea. Or she can't wake up properly. Don't ask me why. :)
Like · Reply · 1 · 13 December at 15:09
Write a reply...


Cambridge N Calvin Keenan I love you two and your adventures ❤👍
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 13 December at 16:08

Stan Burfield Yeah. With somebody you really like, even the tiniest things are adventures. You know it.
Like · Reply · 1 · 13 December at 16:12

Cambridge N Calvin Keenan Stan Burfield you betcha 💜
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 13 December at 16:25
Write a reply...


Karen Lowes Such a romantic pair! Sigh.
Like · Reply · 13 December at 18:35

Stan Burfield Ha ha. Thank God, because it has to make up for my previous relationships, which were Hell on Wheels.
Like · Reply · 2 · 13 December at 18:57

Stan Burfield Same with Linda's.
Like · Reply · 1 · 13 December at 18:58
Write a reply...


Peggy Roffey Nothing beats Roibos tea; ever try it? Not DE-caffeinated; no caffeine to start with and gives a full, robust cup of tea great with milk.
Like · Reply · 13 December at 23:53

Stan Burfield Yes, Linda used to really like that. Drank it for quite a while. Maybe she's forgotten it. I'll ask.
Like · Reply · 13 December at 23:58

Stan Burfield "Yeah, it was just a little too spicy for me, especially for first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. But you know I could put it in with regular decaf Orange Pekoe. Maybe I'll try that." Thanks, Peggy.
Like · Reply · 13 December at 23:58
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Gord McCaw How does decaf tea help anyone wake up?
Like · Reply · 14 December at 11:18
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Stan Burfield Waking up is all in the MIND, never mind that the mind is all in the brain.
Like · Reply · 14 December at 14:04

Gord McCaw Spoken like a true Varavickian secretary, something the cognoscenti such as Al Broudy will recognise right away...
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:11

Stan Burfield A King's Man for sure.
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:15

Gord McCaw Has Linda ever been known to have a fast tea???
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:16

Stan Burfield The Queen is the exact opposite of the King. Her teas are so slow that she never finishes one.
Like · Reply · 1 · 14 December at 22:25

Stan Burfield Actually my memory of The King was that he only said it would be a fast coffee to get us to come and sit with him, then he would put his finger in the handle and sip as slowly as possible.
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:28

Gord McCaw Don't forget the gesturing with the spoon...
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:40

Stan Burfield with drops flying
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:40

Gord McCaw "So then I sez, 'Look, Mrs. Mewbirn, Polly's been running around the Empress telling everybody that Bucky is one of the smartest guys in The Pass.' "...
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:43

Stan Burfield with more coffee flying around and on the word Bucky the cup he's gesturing with at a sharp angle spills coffee but he doesn't notice it.
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:45 · Edited

Gord McCaw This would be at either the 'omestead or the Hurdy Gurdy...
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:47

Stan Burfield yes, depending on....what?
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:50

Gord McCaw Which one offered the most free refills...
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:51

Stan Burfield ha ha yeah
Like · Reply · 14 December at 22:52

Gord McCaw He liked the Homestead because it was a 24-hour joint back in the 70's. I just checked and it sounds like it was still around until recently, on 17 Ave. SW @ 14 St... http://www.profilecanada.com/companydetail.cfm...

Homestead Restaurant & Pizza - 1410 17 Ave Sw, Calgary, AB |…
PROFILECANADA.COM
Like · Reply · Remove Preview · 14 December at 22:59
Comments

Linda is away visiting relatives. 

6/27/2016

Comments

 
Picture
This time, I've been watching myself to see what happens. Usually, I start out positively, with great ideas on how to get through. But then they fall apart.

Well, now I'm seeing what happens pretty clearly. When we're together, the little negative things of my day are diluted by her presence. But alone they flood over me. I stumble around as if my mind had come loose inside my skull.

So how can I put it in its place when IT is me? And when there's no Linda to focus on.

My answer, this time, is to write this. To do that, I stand outside my mind, looking at it. Seeing it clearly. And here I am.


​

​From Facebook, Likes:  16......Larry Burfield, Scott Alderson and 14 others
Comments

Scott Alderson Thus the expression, significant other. As Arnold would say "She'll be back"
Like · Reply · 1 hr

Stan Burfield Next time she calls, I'll have to try to get her to say in her deepest voice, "I'll be back". Ha ha. That'll cheer us both up!

Like · Reply · 1 · 43 mins
Comments

A pea and a bean in a pod

6/18/2016

Comments

 
Linda and I went down to the backyard of the apartment building this afternoon, unfolded our two chairs under a massive, ancient maple and sat down to read, me Lawrence of Arabia's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and Linda the beginning of a diary written by one of my female ancestors in the 18th century. Linda did okay but I became distracted by a vine that was climbing from a hedge into the tree. Then a loud family came out, we both lost our concentration, and packed up to go back inside.

At the door, I had no keys.

I must have left them in the apartment. Luckily, someone let us in the building. We went up and our door was locked. Okay, before panic began to set in, I said, "Wait here, I'll go back and check around the table. They must have fallen out of my pocket into the grass, maybe when I pulled my camera out." The cord on the camera gets tangled up with everything all the time. So down I went, and hunted carefully all along the route between the door and where our chairs had been. Nothing. So I did it again, trying to remember my exact route back. Nothing. I stopped myself and thought carefully. Where could they have gone? Aha! They must have fallen out of my pocket into the chair, because the low chair pushes my legs upwards. So, optimistically, I went back up to Linda, searching all the way one more time. She was still petting the neighbour's cats in the hall. She didn't seem too concerned. We took both the chairs out of their bags and unfolded them. Nothing. Now I was really getting worried. It was 8 in the evening. The apartment manager would be gone for the day. Linda said, "We should be able to get someone at the company office." They own a bunch of these buildings and would have someone on all the time. But first we went out and looked again. I prowled along very slowly this time, and when I got to where we had been sitting I kneeled on the ground to feel through the grass with my hands. Linda had wandered off to the side, I couldn't imagine why. Irritated, I said, "What are you doing?" She said, "You were over here looking up into the tree. Remember the vine?" "Oh, yeah." I had completely forgotten. I walked toward her looking down, and there were the keys!

We are so different. I'm always thinking. She's always doing things. It's very easy for me to forget real things that I've really done in the real world, because my world, the one which is complete and is always with me, is a world of ideas. Whereas, Linda remembers every little thing that both of us have done in the real world, which is hers.
​
We're similar and complement each other in the very important ways of human feelings, but we're opposite in virtually everything else. Which means that we hold together, and in doing so we have one all-encompassing brain. What one of us lacks the other excels in.
Picture
​Likes: 24--Karen Booth, Barbara Green and 22 others
​

Comments
Linda Eva Williams Linda, you look like you're swooning! What's not to swoon over?

Stan Burfield Ha ha. You know how to say it, Linda.


Cambridge N Calvin Keenan A beautiful love story , thanks for Sharing Stan and Linda 🌹have a fabulous weekend

Cambridge N Calvin Keenan That's a great picture of you two 🌹


Meredith Moeckel Love reading about your love affair, and the picture of you two is perfect! ♡♡

Comments

    Stan Burfield's Blog

    Organizer of London Open Mic Poetry. former support worker for people with autism and developmental disabilities.  former farm boy, former adventurer, former florist.
    The 2014 Ted Plantos Memorial Award

    Interview in Your Old South Magazine
    Interview: The "My Writing Process" Blog Tour

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    Going Out
    1. House Fly Dancing to Mozart

    Videos
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    *Linda and her Christmas display
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    ​
    *Linda in first day of snow. ​
    *Balcony finished?
    *Linda relaxing
    *We'll see...
    ​*Linda and I in the Rose Garden. 
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    *Fred, my father
    *​A perfect day to stroll in the woods. 
    ​
    Short Blurbs
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    *...or we don't.
    *An actual woman to a man...
    *On this Valentines Day... ​
    *How little I've changed!
    *A sunny dream, with no fear.
    *Little mistakes....
    *A label for the essence of something
    *​Dream of a typed poem
    *Here's what I want:
    *I like her quirks.
    *A little success
    *The course of history...
    *From "The Cat's Table" by Ondaatje
    *Happy to be a citizen again
    *I THINK IT’S LIKE THIS.
    *I'm so lucky.
    *After rollercoastering, I'm excited!!!
    *Old photos
    *Fire!
    *A memory that keeps returning.
    *What is TRUMP''S AUTHORITARIANISM all about?
    *Practising morality on Halloween
    *Hanging on to an ethic
    *LOOK OUT!!
    *Out of a harsh thing...
    *Mr. Moon comes rolling in.
    *What if...
    *Will I and the Open Mic both survive?
    *I'm now a published poet! Finally.
    *Well, the MRI is done. 
    *Yeah!!! I'm finally a published poet!
    *Medical Update, for those interested
    *Yesterday I had a mini-stroke.
    *We being ourselves.
    *Enormous relief
    *Orange-oatmeal cookies!
    *To put London Open Mic behind me
    ​
    *She sings!
    *Worried
    *While walking home from the store with cherries...
    *Science
    *Standing Still
    *Hey, get a job!
    ​
    *Linda and I are learning to trust.
    *Linda is away visiting relatives. 
    *"We halted and so knew that the quiet night was full of sounds..."
    ​
    *"We halted and so knew that the quiet night was full of sounds..."
    ​
    *Diet and health/longevity
    *Edward Hopper: Woman in Train Compartment
    *A pea and a bean in a pod
    ​*Colt!
    ​*Don't get it off your chest.
    ​*In a world that is neither Heaven nor Hell, hope drives everything.
    *Roy is 80
    *What is going on with these incredible coincidences I keep having?
    *My world of coincidences
    *Is that rumble a distant train or the city?
    *Revelations are everywhere.
    *Knowing you
    *Despite...
    ​
    *The sound of love
    ​
    *Our smile for the day
    *Hurricanes Carla and Esther
    ​*Time Warp!

    *The Pow Wow
    *The Polar Sea
    *Other people
    *Moccasin Bells
    * Stories from my life
    *Je  suis Charlie Hebdo, mais....
    *Life at a fire lookout tower
    *Dominoes
    *Grinch
    *This was my dad in 1965
    *Blue

    Personal Essays
    *Here’s my inch, for what it’s worth
    *Freedom to talk
    *I wonder
    ​*Will I and the Open Mic both survive?
    *Medical Update, for those interested
    *Fred, my father
    *THIS  IS  GETTING  TOO  WEIRD:  the nearly-impossible coincidences are rolling in en masse now.
    *After four seasons, I'm flying!
    ​
    *True North
    ​
    *Back to work on poetry, finally!!
    ​
    *Maybe it's time to see a psychiatrist.
    *66: My best birthday ever.
    *Out of darkness..
    *Hacker attack. Oh man...
    *Jean Vanier, what is this thing he's discovered?
    *Jean Vanier and L'Arche
    *But then again...
    *A Most Useful Invention
    *Building my next beater.
    *My dreams are full of people now.
    *Dear Diary: Relax. Take your boots off. 
    *Those big pictures
    *An UnSilent Night
    *Urban Legends
    *Familiar
    *I  had a glass of Landon Cabernet last night
    *The Less-educated Imagination
    *Listen, I'll tell you something that's really got me worried
    *Can't get enough


    Poems
    *The universe as a poem
    *If you don't know
    *A meander through Euston Park 
    *The Picard Card
    *To Open the Morning
    * We'll see...
    *1st published poem: On a Crate 
    *We decide
    *Standing Still
    *DRINK
    *Oblivious
    *Some Other Place
    *Tinnitus
    *It seems you just have to be still
    *In the Night
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    *Oh
    *Concerning our Glorious Future: (2nd prize winner at 2014 Poetry London Contest)
    *Yes I heard Ginsberg read once he said prepare for death
    *Amazement
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    *Heart Shaped


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