The Visitor

Sometimes you just meet someone and you could listen to them speak all day long.  I had that experience with a hospital visitor.

James Ford

The gentleman in the Veteran WW II purple heart hat,

Strolled into the hospital room, just like that,

His hands in his pockets, but standing up tall,

He was 92 years old, but you’d never know it at all,

He was neatly dressed in a freshly-pressed light purple shirt,

His khaki pants were belted and his white shoes, void of dirt,

He had eyeglasses sitting atop of his suntanned nose,

And a set of hearing aids for his hearing was bad, I suppose,

He spoke clearly and slowly, his voice was quite strong,

He was cheerfully pleasant, as if nothing was wrong,

With his legs crossed and hands folded on his knees,

And gold wristwatch, he told stories with ease,

I could have listened to him talk for much longer that day,

But he just came for a visit and really couldn’t stay,

He was a WW II veteran, with a purple heart hat,

Who strolled into the hospital room, just like that!

Written:  8/7/2017

Tammy Harvey 

Coincidentally

True Story:

Memory Lane

I took a walk down memory lane,

It had been thirty-eight years, let me explain,

The campus where I lived in 1979,

Had changed so much, which is fine,

But I recognized the residence hall,

Where the huge gingko tree still stood tall,

Everything else had been updated,

It looked so good, I was elated,

I crossed at 17^th St, only to find,

Abundant memories flooding my mind,

When I was a student back in the day,

It was an exciting and educating stay,

Now straight ahead I saw a familiar door,

A Goodwill had opened, my favorite store,

I went right in and to my surprise,

There at the front door before my eyes,

Was a University of Tennessee yearbook dated 1979,

Inside the freshman section, the photo was mine,

Now how coincidental could that be,

On memory lane to find a picture of me!!

Written:  8/14/2017

Tammy Harvey

Back in the Saddle

On August 3, I got a call that my Mom had suffered a stroke.  It affected her entire right side, and she was numb from the top of her head to the tip of her big toe.  She got to the hospital within an hour, and therefore qualified to receive a miracle drug called TPA which stops the damage.  For the past two weeks I have watched her steadily recover to a point where she can walk and go home. Thankfully it never affected her speech or her mind's ability to problem solve.  Thanks to the Patricia Neal Rehab Center for providing excellent therapy. 

Amazing Recovery

When a blood clot lodges in your left thalamus,

And your right side goes numb, it causes a fuss,

The key is to get to the ER as fast as you can,

To get the TPA drug and a quick CAT-­SCAN,

My Mom experienced this trauma last week, suddenly,

A stroke was diagnosed relatively easily,

She was monitored closely in ICU,

For the first 24 hours then nobody knew,

Just how fast her arm and leg would recover,

She is amazingly resilient and we would discover,

That at 83, she is still as tough as nails,

When she breezed through rehab with wind in her sails,

In a week’s time, she was already walking about,

You can count her down, but you can’t count her out,

She is a 7-year breast cancer survivor,

With her husband of 66 years there beside her,

They both have had their medical battles,

They’ve been knocked off their horses, but got back in their saddles,

We can’t forget my Dad’s heart disease,

And the fact that they both have had replacement knees,

Now we can add stroke victim to the list,

But the positives are many, and here lies the twist,

They ARE still kicking, although not quite as high,

AND they still have each other on which to rely!

Written:  8/9/2017

Tammy Harvey

Not Elmer's

The Glue

Love is the glue that holds the world together,

Love exists in good and bad weather,

The glue that binds two hearts into one,

The glue that clutches a mother to her son,

Love is the glue that mends the broken,

Love speaks for us when words can’t be spoken,

The glue that sticks one friend to another,

The glue that holds a sister to a brother,

Love is the glue when all else fails,

Love puts the wind back into our sails,

The glue that repairs the broken-hearted,

The glue that remembers those departed,

Love is patient, Love is kind; It does not envy or boast,

That is why Love is the glue we need most.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  April 12, 2017

He got my Goat

get someone's goat definition

To make someone annoyed or angry. This expression comes from a tradition in horse racing. Thought to have a calming effect on high-strung thoroughbreds, a goat was placed in the horse's stall on the night before the race. Unscrupulous opponents would then steal the goat in an effort to upset the horse and cause it to lose the race.

He is a Nuisance

That squirrel got my goat- that takes some guts,

Oh, he’s a smart one:  He’s definitely not nuts,

He cleverly steals all the birdseed away,

I see him hanging on my birdfeeder every day,

He is a nuisance… and I ‘d like to proclaim,

That I’m not giving up:  it’s on!  It’s no game,

I’ve tried to squirrel-proof my feeder but to no avail,

He dives right in, wiggling his bushy tail,

Hanging upside down just to taunt me, he’s shrewd,

It’s the principle of the thing:  it’s his greedy attitude,

The songbirds I long to see through my window pane,

Have no chance to eat and it drives me insane!!

That squirrel got my goat- that takes some nerve,

I hope he gets a tummy ache that he deserves,

My mind is made up:  I’m buying more seed,

There are songbirds I am longing to feed!

Tammy Harvey

Written:  July 26,2017

Silver is the new Blonde

Blue is the new Brown

Nothing is finer than a nice worn-in pair of jeans,

You can purchase brand new yet “worn”, if you understand what that means,

The blue denim is worn soft and smooth already,

Which is a far cry from the stiff denim in 1970,

They fit like a glove, yet comfortable and forgiving,

They are made for the kind of life you are living,

A ‘go-to’ pair is always a must,

Levi 501’s is a brand you can trust,

Boot cut, low-rise, relaxed-fit or straight,

Wearing a pair of jeans should make you feel great,

Comfy and baggy,

Yet not too saggy,

Or tight and skinny,

Yet not too many,

One or two pairs is all you need,

Versatile, year-round:  my advice you should heed,

You can dress them up or dress them down,

Just get some jeans – blue is the new brown.

And if of your youth you are really fond,

I hate to tell you, but silver is the new blonde!

Tammy Harvey

Written:  12/8/2016

The Healer

A Plea from Me

I am broken all to pieces,

Vulnerable, my worry increases,

You are the One to get me back together,

Through any storm, I have to weather,

Mold me back into a whole,

Refresh, renew my weary soul,

I was lost, but now am found,

Let me stand on solid ground,

You are the Rock on which I stand,

You are with me--I’m in Your hand,

Hidden in Your nail-scarred palm,

You alone are the healing balm,

So, I’ll be patient while you mend me,

Then I will go just where you send me,

You repair the worse in me,

I was blind, but now I see,

I’ll take Your mercy and your grace,

You took my pain, stood in my place,

Keep me humble, keep me still,

So, I can follow Your omnipotent will.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  April 5, 2017

Cuck-coo

Curious Clock
Back in the days when I was small,
Something curious hung on my Aunt Sylvia’s wall,
It wasn’t like any regular clock,
Although it did have the usual cadence: tick-tock,
Chains hung down from the clock, and when it was time,
Every hour on the hour, the clock would chime,
But not only did it chime, it housed a bird,
He would come out of his house and have a word,
“Cuck-coo, Cuck-coo”, I remember he tweeted,
While I watched and waited, on the couch I was seated,
The last few minutes ticked so slowwwly by,
Yet he startled me with his familiar cry,
Suddenly the tiny doors flew open and he shot out,
I knew he would, I had no doubt,
“Cuck-coo, Cuck-coo”- that sound was the best!
Then he disappeared for another hour’s rest,
It seemed so long to see him again,
But only a flash before he went back in,
The wonder, the awe, that little bird possessed,
To a wide-eyed girl who was easily impressed!

Tammy Harvey

Written: August 3, 2017

Say Cheese!

Smile!

Aim. Click. Flash cube melt, and then…

Advance the film on the old 110,

Waiting to get to exposure # 24,

Remember when photography was such a chore?

When it was weeks before the roll was complete,

Then the film had to be taken the store down the street,

Left there for a time, for the film to be developed,

Then prints picked-up with the negatives, specially enveloped, 

And the photo opportunity was gone with the wind,

It’s not like we could retake and resend,

Nowadays, we have the luxury of immediate results,

Take as many as we want, children and adults,

Handy and quick, at our fingertips, a camera phone,

A few years ago, we could never have known,

The ease at which photography would become,

Take plenty, delete most and keep some.

Tammy Harvey

Written:  June 8, 2017

My Memaw always referred to the camera as a "kodak".

"Get your kodak and take our picture."

My Guest writer

My Aunt Doris taught both grammar school and Sunday School for over 40 years.  Recently, a poem she wrote in 1995 was found in an old chest by another family member and given to me.  In honor of  her, I am posting her poem for everyone to enjoy.

In Honor of

Doris Jean Paschal

June 28, 1930- December 1, 2010

Just a line to say, I'm living, That I'm not among the dead.

Though I'm getting more forgetful and more mixed up in the head

For sometimes I can't remember when I stand at the foot of the stairs.

If I must go up for something  Or have I just come down from there?

And before the refrigerator so often my poor mind is filled with doubt.

Have I just put the food away  Or have I come to take it out?

And there's times when it's dark out with my night cap on my head,

I don't know if I'm retiring  Or just got out of bed.

So if it's my turn to write you  There's no need in getting sore,

I may think that I have written  And don't want to be a bore.

So remember, I do love you,   And wish that you were here.

But now it's nearly mail time  So I must say, "Good-bye Dear".

There I stood beside the mailbox with a face so very red.

Instead of mailing you my letter, I opened it instead.

DJP-1995  My Guest Writer