Month: October 2022

In the end, there will be

One flock and one shepherd

There will be the separation

Of the chaff from the grain

The chaff will be burned and

The grain saved and honored

In our world today it is very

Difficult to convey this truth

To those who seek wealth and

Control of the things going on

In this chaotic world.  We have

Enough knowledge, resources

To give comfort to everyone

Alive, but greed and ego have

Us in a constant battle for superiority

I can see the great Lake Michigan

As I look at the pictures of mothers

Walking miles to collect water

From small streams then carry

It back to make soup for their

Children suffering from malnutrition

I see, also, piles of garbage and trash

And people sifting through them

To find anything salvageable to eat

All of this would be unnecessary if

We could come together and

Share all the gifts given to us by

Our Creator; then live in harmony

It is doubtful that this will happen

Based on our history as far back

As we have access to it.  There

Has always been war and disruption

The cure would be to follow the

Commandment “Love thy neighbor”

If done universally we would

Have no more problems and

Life would be full without worry

Stanski

October 11, 2022, ^

The temperature is cool, but the sun

Is shining and its bright light beams

Off of the inland sea.  I was reading

Letters of John Steinbeck and was

Fascinated by his discipline.  He had

His goal and did everything necessary

To achieve them.  This was not easy

In the nineteen-twenties.  He went

To Stanford but did not graduate

He wrote an amazing number of books

He liked to use a pencil on a legal pad

He would rework lines of his book

Until he felt he had it right.  He was

More advanced than his teachers,

Very polite and respectful.  He had

Some bad years; lived through the

Good years; dedicated to his work

He was a loner but managed to

Communicate with his friends

This was done by writing letters

He had compassion and was amazed

At the inner strength of people who

Through no fault of themselves were

Down on their luck.  We should strive

To be of such character.  Hemingway

Loved Michigan; Steinbeck, with

Apologies to all the other beautiful

States chose Montana as his favorite

I will go with Ernest Hemingway on this

Steinbeck exaggerated at times, but then

Don’t we all.  Still, truth stands firmly

On its own.  One thing for sure that we

Learn through reading, is that there is

Much we don’t know.

Stanski

October 10, 2022, ^

So difficult it is to lose a friend and

Then, in the blink of an eye, another

Angels about gather up the souls

Deliver them to the Maker

Angels return to be amongst us

Even though we are not aware

We are caught up in grief and

It is not clear why we had to

Have our dear ones taken

At times like these and

We feel forsaken, but

Still the angels

Suppress some emotion

Not getting in the way of

Our devotion.  True believers

Do not flinch, but

Accept this part of life

For what it is

Mourning and grieving

But no interceding is

Changing our way

Angels keep our heartache at bay

We adjust and begin again as

Our hurt begins to pass

Our tempo returns to normal

Floundering has no place in

Lives seeking his grace

We have our part in life to play

Angels about, help us along the way

Playing a role in answered prayer

I wonder how many believe

Is this true of deceit?

Life soon becomes normal

We fall into a routine

No wavering or straying

We again are filled with love

We remember the ones

Who have gone ahead

Keep them alive in

Our mind, heart, and soul

Don’t think about angels or

Their important role

We just go on and on

Until the next one is called

The cycle of life

Again you recall

Our frailty and then

The words about angles

Stansberry McKricken

September 28, 2016 ^

Update October 11, 2022 BY STANSKI

Sunday morning

The packers lose in England

A third of October gone

The sun is shining

Leaves are glowing

From green to purple

Birds who leave are gone

Still, many birds remain

There is music

The beauty alone is a song

Lake Michigan has its beat

Pumpkins appear in large

Numbers in the neighborhoods

The smell of the season

Is in the air

We know the year is ending

It is a time for meditation

And thanksgiving

The world is in chaos, but

Still there is much to be

Thankful for as we know

We prepare for winter and

In the meantime enjoy

God’s gift of beauty

We are lucky people in many way

Stanski

October 9, 2022, ^

It seems to be that

When we are unhappy

For any reason at all

We have left God

Out of the equation

The One we should be looking to

For enlightenment has been forgotten

We let ourselves stand

In the way of our solution pride prevails

There is no passion for His purpose

We may have faith

But we have lost our trust

Essentially we have lost our way

Sometimes when all else fails

We connect again to our spiritual side and

This opens us up to Him

He is there and wants us

To walk along at His side

When we accept this concept

We receive a state of mind

That will not allow

The possibility of unhappiness

Not having Him

Allowed for pettiness and

The many other forms of misery

So we stop, open up and are filled

We learn to persevere and

Speak quietly, daily to the Truth

We have found our light

In human terms, how great is that?

Martin Luther King might say

This is the day we dreamed of

By Steve Haarman aka Stanski

Revised January 17, 2013

A small dissertation on wisdom:

If you look for truth you may

find comfort in the end; if you

look for comfort, you will not

get either comfort or truth,

only soft soap and wishful

thinking to begin, and in

the end despair.

Copied by Stanski

October 6, 2022, ^

I was dreaming when

I wondered what a hector was.

I thought it was a measurement

and later when awake

looked it up and found it to

be what 10,000 acres is. 

The U.P. is 17,300 acres. 

I found that interesting,

almost two hectors. 

As I came out of sleep

I could hear the waves

lapping the shore. 

There is constant motion and

even when the lake looks still it is moving. 

The clouds at times look motionless,

but they are slowly moving. 

Sometimes you would like to take

a thread and tie a certain cloud

so it could keep its unusual shape. 

I watch the birds swimming in or

flying over the lake. 

Then often lighting on the shore-line trees. 

They don’t seem to have a preference. 

All of the species to all of the species. 

It is a gray day, but very bright. 

You have to move your eyes away or

wear sunglasses to do It. It is getting cooler

and rain is in the forecast. 

I don’t think it is related to

the destructive hurricane which did

billions in damage to Florida

and other coastal states. 

Excuse me, dear reader,

all of this talk of weather has left me chilled

so I have to run and grab a jacket. 

Now I am back and feeling a little more comfortable. 

It is a good feeling.  I received a cap from one of

my favorite downstate charities. 

Its location is N 42* 57; 10”4” W 85* 38; 43’’15”

When you get there tell them Stanski sent you.

Stanski

October 5, 2022, ^

A TRUE STORY FROM THE BOOK OF STANSKI

It is straight from the gospel of truth

I see a band of sky blue on the horizon

Three feet wide and startling bright

Below is the gray almost motionless inland sea

Above is the same gray in the form of clouds

There is little evidence of the sun trying to break through

I am lifted – discovery, reward, and the day just beginning

I think back to childhood fixing my bike

Greasing brakes, tightening spokes

Adjusting handlebars, seats, and chains

Everything is perfect until I take it around

The corner onto a fresh tar and stoned street

I slid sideways to a halt –my bike in another direction

Looking at tar and blood, I spot a dollar bill

It lays in the gutter, clean, abandoned and still

Forgetting my wounds I pick it up, only to hear

“That is mine young man, I just dropped it”

A little lady walks over, claims, and takes it

Walking home with my bike, I calculate the needed repairs

My body will heal, the two-wheeler needs fixing

Mom wants me to rake leaves

Gathered and cluttered between two garages

My first sweeping motion uncovers a ten-dollar bill

There is no little old lady there to claim it

I give it to mom, who is hanging the laundry

On one of the four lines crossing the backyard

She is thrilled and then notices my wounds

I finish raking, fix my bike and dress the scrapes

I am sent to the florist to pay a bill

Be sure and get a receipt; I will I promise

The sky was the pretty blue I saw this morning

Stanski

October 4, 2022, ^

October is like a combination

Of June and November, my

Two favorite months.  I love

Indian summer when I see

Cornstalks stacked like a tee-pee

And an old man sitting on a stump

Watching the fire of burning leaves.

People are decorating with pumpkins;

Some just a few and others using

Dozens.  The smells and the sounds.

Cider and donuts. Birds are still chirping

But not as many as the sojourn to the

Winter homes has begun.

When we see the harvest I am

Thankful.  Dedicated farmers or

Gardeners have much to offer at

The markets.  They worked hard

During the heat and sometimes

The drought that comes in summer.

In the schools, the fall decorations

Are up and kids a getting anxious

About Halloween and what they

Will dress up as.  Merchants are

Using the month for promotions.

October is a month for reflection.

We have much to be thankful for.

There are many in need and i

Think we should get ready to help.

Stanski

October 2, 2022,^