Friday April 26, 2024 
Corona Poem
There’s No Place Like Home
Don’t sit there on the couch and watch the bad news
That will only give you an incurable case of the blues
Crank up the stereo and play a happy song
Put on your dancing shoes and sing along
If you’ve lost your job and unemployment wants to give you your pay
Consider it a blessing, because you probably didn’t like the job anyway
You once were a parent and now you’re a teacher
The churches are closed so it’s time to get out the bible and become a preacher
You can’t watch sports or place a bet
So use the money to go to a shelter and get yourself a nice pet
It’s time to sharpen your scissors and cut your hair
If it’s a tad uneven don’t worry no one will care
If you need to get out some stress, put on your sneakers
And walk briskly down the street
You can still smile and wave to your neighbors from six feet
Surprise your family and start making some fancy recipes
because you know you’re better than those TV cooks
After all the dish might taste better than it looks
If you’re waiting for that stimulus check in the mail
It will probably take more time to come than it does
for a prisoner to get out of jail
Above all, don’t let the world get you down
Because a smile looks much better than a frown
Donna Masters, Troy
2 Easter Poems
All Rise
From the grave they heard a voice
Now was the time for everyone to rejoice
The son of God who once was dead would rise
took all of mankind by surprise
He paid with his life for every sin
Making eternity easy for us to win
A prophesy that many years ago was once told
Seemed at the time extremely bold
That a humble man called Jesus
would take my hand
and lead me to the promised land
P.S. It’s pretty funny to think it’s about a bunny !
The Rising Son
Our savior Jesus was sentenced to death and died on a cross
Everyone was devastated, how would the world overcome such a loss
Shortly thereafter he rose from the dead and walked out of his grave
A promise God kept, so that every soul he could save
Jesus gave his life to pay for all our sins
Because of this all of mankind wins
As I ponder this ultimate act of kindness, I’m overwhelmed with joy and my eyes fill with tears
I realize that God gave up his only son,
because he is the one who really cares
Easter is here for only one day
But Gods never ending grace and everlasting love are here to stay
Donna Masters, Troy
Social vs. Physical Distancing
The social distancing guidelines, which were developed by health officials to help stop the spread of COVID-19, are becoming increasingly difficult to follow as days turn into weeks and possibly months. Instead of social distancing, it should really be called physical distancing because we are being asked to maintain six feet of distance from each other, not to stop socializing with each other. Thanks to our devices, there are many ways to socialize with our family and friends without being physically near them. Disappointing as it may be to celebrate a birthday with the family on Skype, it can be done successfully. If skyping is not an option, we can still stay in touch via Facebook, e-mail and texts just to name a few. Oh, and let’s not forget about good, old-fashioned talking on the phone, which, for some, is always a last resort. Although none of these options are nearly as satisfying as getting together for a house party, they totally defeat the very persistent efforts of COVID-19 to spread to our loved ones, especially those, at any age, with compromised health and immune systems. With COVID-19, it is not just about catching it, it is also about spreading it, something we all have a duty to prevent as much as is humanly possible until this health crisis is over.
Mary Ann Matters, East Greenbush
Memoirs of an Amnesiac: Fat Sandwiches
If you roast a cut of beef in the oven, you can save the juices in a separate container, and fat will harden into a crust on top. When I was a kid in the 1950s, my Mom prepared roast beef most Sundays. And during the week, my big sister would sometimes whip up a fat sandwich when she got home from school. She’d toast some bread then “butter” it with beef drippings from a jar. (Can’t you feel your arteries harden just thinking about that?)
That was one of the tricks my family acquired in England during World War II. Food, clothing, gasoline, everything was in short supply; so people learned not to throw out anything. If you owned an item you didn’t need, maybe you could swap it for something you did. The British people may have been starving for lack of protein. Eggs were rationed according to a formula: “one egg per person per week–perhaps”. And rationing continued into the 1950s, years after the war was over.
But my folks were luckier than most of their neighbors, because they received care packages from America. Long-time residents of Averill Park might remember Mrs. Ringwall, the school nurse. She was my Dad’s sister, and an angel at mailing supplies to him. When my family immigrated to America in 1950, she invited them to stay with her, and eventually she sponsored them for US citizenship. That’s how it is that the McKees settled in Averill Park, where my brother and I were born.
This COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on supermarkets lately. Even so, whenever I step into one, I feel lucky to live in America, the land of plenty. Around here, at least, the shelves are still pretty well stocked. And prices have always been low, compared to other countries I’ve seen. There’s no place I’d rather be when riding out this storm.
Ron McKee, Averill Park
Can We Agree To Disagree?
Have you ever had a political debate with someone who’s dead wrong and they say “I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree”?
Well, I don’t agree. Political truth is very dear to me. I do not abide political falsehoods. There’s an underlying evil in political falsehoods that will destroy people if allowed to go unchecked.
I distinctly remember when the statement first came about. It was during the course of a highly charged political debate over an issue where the left could not defend its position. They came up with the statement of agreeing to disagree, to disarm their opponent of the ability to continue to present the political truth.
There was another statement that appeared in political discourse around that same time and it had the same effect and that was: “There is no such thing as truth, there are only differences of opinion.”
Those two statements have done a great deal of harm to America. They paved the way for the left to convince a growing number of young and open minded people that truth is relative and malleable.
Another harmful left-wing maxim from that era is that perception is reality. If you believe that reality is a matter of perception, you’re a perfect candidate for brainwashing.
Truth is the only reality. To think otherwise would be to deceive yourself or allow yourself to be deceived.
Political falsehoods are rarely free-standing statements innocently made with no reason behind them. They’re usually part of a narrative. If gone unchecked they will allow the continuation of a false narrative.
By engaging someone successfully in defeating one political falsehood, you have a good chance of defeating the narrative. If not immediately, you may at least be able to go back and show how the false narrative progressed. The ability to forensically show how a false narrative was born and raised might have more success than trying to push political truth on somebody in the heat of an argument when emotions prevent the acceptance of reason.
David Crawmer, Wynantskill
Lost Time
This quarantine is killing me;
I haven’t seen my grandson for nearly three weeks.
We are best buddies;
We enjoy doing everything together.
We missed opening day of trout season;
Never had the opportunity to get our fishing gear ready.
We haven’t been able to do any scouting…
Will likely miss the opening day of turkey season.
He will survive this, but
I might not have many more seasons left.
And, it is so much more:
I really miss his smile…his hugs…his hand in mine.
Time lost now….
For me, is lost forever!
Lloyd Barnhart, West Sand Lake