Wacky Wednesday: August 19

Welcome to another Wacky Wednesday. We’ve all survived another wacky week and since it’s 2020 things can only get more bizarre. Our first word for today is Impignorate. This transitive verb has a simple definition. It means to pledge, pawn, or mortgage. Our next is Jentacular. An adjective which means of or pertaining to a breakfast taken early in the morning, or immediately on getting up. I guess most people don’t eat breakfast right away. I’m always hungry when I wake up, but I start with coffee.

Our national holidays today are a little all over the place. First is National Bow Day. This refers to bows on clothing and in one’s hair. Men wore bow ties in the 18th century and, as fashion trends changed, women began wearing them to accessorize. Next we have National Aviation Day which was started in 1939 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He designated the anniversary of Orville Wright’s birthday as this holiday. Finally, we have National Soft Ice Cream Day. Soft serve ice cream has been popular since the 1930s. It contains less milk fat than hard ice cream and isn’t kept as cold as hard ice cream.

Sounds like a lot of fun things to celebrate today. If nothing else, get yourself some ice cream and throw some bows in your hair. And if you want to wear a bow tie, please get a real one and not a clip on. We need to make bow ties popular again.

Tuesday Poetry: I Grew a Beard Before it Was Cool

Once I was able, I grew out my beard
I had a full beard when I was 18
I tried goatees and mustaches
But I felt most comfortable with a beard
Always trimmed, never the hipster mountain man
I am the guy with the beard and the glasses
Around 2014, beards came back into fashion
Now almost every guy has a long, gross beard
I still keep mine trimmed
Everyone says I have a beard because it’s popular
I’ll still have a beard when it’s not fashionable
My beard will keep growing after I’m dead

From the poetry collection Cats, Coffee, Catharsis.

Poetry Monday: When You’re Broke Downtown Still Feels Like the Place to Be

On the weekends
The best place to be
Is a coffee shop
Across the street
From a bar or club
In the heart of downtown
In whatever city

Sipping the coffee
While people watching – 
Those kids who think
Alcohol makes them cool
Those kids who think
Drunken idiots
Are their friends

All these kids do
Is work and party
How do they have
So much money – 
I could barely afford
This cup of coffee
But the night doesn’t end
With me crying

They’ll learn the hard way
When they stop drinking
Their so-called friends will leave
Maybe then they’ll do something
That benefits society
Or adds to our culture
Maybe then they’ll join me
For a cup of coffee

From the poetry collection Cats, Coffee, Catharsis.