We have a little annual festival called the Sunflower Festival. I had the chance to go this past Saturday. Don’t you just love small town festivals with all the scurrying around and visiting old friends?

There were lots of good smells coming from the vendors on sight, and so many local crafts and colorful displays to be seen. And in the background was some really good music to give the whole thing a festive atmosphere.

Having had a chance to watch the antics of the local performer and filling my little Tennessee bag full of local crafts I had to be on my way to work to pay for all of the little trinkets I had just purchased.

It always amazes me to see what people can make out of nothing. One  vendor had set up a table with a colorful display of purses made out of cigar boxes. Which shows the creativity of mountain people to take nothing and make something out of it. We were green way before green ever became fashionable. We were taught to throw away nothing! And what was once considered being a little “stingy”  is now considered to be a responsible way to conserve our resources. Imagine that! We were being green all along and didn’t even know it!

Today I would like to share a poem with you that I wrote. It is in a compilation of poems by several poets in the book Collected Whispers. I hope you enjoy it.

A Tiskit, A Taskit

We’re all in the world’s big basket

Drifting along on life’s ocean

The trip can be smooth and easy

Just one big cruise

Or the water can get choppy and rough

You could lose your balance

And fall out of the basket

You might have a friend

That pulls you back in before you fall

These are the lucky ones

It doesn’t happen to all

Some are all alone and don’t want to go on

They jump from the safety of the known

To risk the adventure of the unknown

The basket is less full now

Slightly used, battered, and worn

It’s load, a little lighter now

So still, it presses on

More jump into the basket

It groans with the world’s weight

It stalls and starts to sink

So those inside cast off unneeded things

Its course is steady once more inside the ring

A tisket, a tasket,

We’re all in the big world’s basket

I hope you enjoy the new improvements my cousin Rick made to my web site. He and his lovely wife Cheria took the picture for it, and Rick updated it for me. If you ever have a need for a web master, he is very good and has reasonable rates. You can reach him at rick@rlrouse.com.

Thanks Rick for the great job!

If you haven’t heard yet, I have a new book out by PublishAmerica called Lemon Days and Strawberry Nights. It is available directly from the publisher at www.publishamerica.com or online at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.

Although, the book uses fictional names, it is based on a true story. Check it out!

If you haven’t visited my cousin Rick’s web site yet, you’re missing a treat. His www.todaysphoto.org web page is outstanding! His pictures are so beautiful and realistic that you feel like you are right there looking at them. You never know what you might find on this great web site. The stories and pictures vary from day to day, so you never know what treasure you might find.

I remember growing up with Rick. He came from a very large family, and he has struggled to find his own way in life. And he has succeeded wonderfully. Now married to a wonderful girl named Cheria, they share a lot of the same passions and interests. Both are wonderful photographers and writers. As a matter of fact, you can also visit Cheria’s web site at www.Cheriaschatter.com

As an example of what a wonderful country gentleman Rick is, the other night I was coming out of a local retail store as he was coming in. It was raining, and I was tired and trying to hurry home. We exchanged pleasantries, and I walked on to my car. Rick turned around and followed me to my car so he could help me unload my groceries! What a gentleman! In this day when people too often take for granted our fellow man, how refreshing to know that there are still gentlemen out there still wanting to treat a lady like a lady!

This is my first post on my new website. I’m a newbie to the world wide web. My smart cousin Rick helped me get started. I hope we can share a lot of thoughts together.

Remember my new book, Lemon Days and Strawberry Nights.