PATHETIC

Though I huffle
And I puffle,
I could have more fun
If I could really run.
But I can only shuffle.

Can one still be athletic
When one's running is pathetic?
To me it's very plain
That, should I make a lot of gain,
I could still be right pathetic.

HOOP HOLE HIKE

Way up in County Botetourt
Where the James slenders down a lot,
The outlook was far from bleak
As we set out up Stony Creek
On a summer day not too hot.

Steep at times was that ascent,
But we were not hell bent.
Creek crossings, they were rife,
And we observed plant life
As slowly up we went.

Laura's pace suits me to a tee.
Slower uphill she is than T.
Not going hell for leather,
We oft took a breather
But didn't sit down for tea.

From the creek we veered away,
Found Pine Mountain Trail right away.
The six in our parade
Were always in the shade
On a lovely day.

For a long way 'twas mostly level.
Then left, uphill, steep the bevel.
And more uphill quite a bunch
Till we stopped for lunch
Just a bit disheveled.

This seemed to be the summit.
Frisky still? Far from it.
I sat there stiff.
There was no cliff
Where one might plummet.

We could scarcely see out.
Blueberries were all about,
But they were all green.
Some service berries were seen,
And laurel blossoms were still out.

From there, of course, we went down,
Though sometimes up to go down.
It was ten till five
When we began our long drive
Back to town.

Forgive that about this I may brag:
For the last mile, where a hiker could sag,
Since important we consider,
Robert and I, the removal of litter,
A huge tattered tarpaulin we dragged.

TRAINING

Let me be refraining
That it all depends on training.
If you would shine on race day,
In training you'll have to pay.
This hardly needs explaining.

In the race you'll be straining
While fatigue on you is gaining
And, though you start pell-mell,
You won't do so well
If you've been lax in training.

It all depends on training
And you shouldn't be complaining
When you fail to do your best
If you always take a rest
On days when it is raining.

Conversely, I'm maintaining,
You'll be beyond restraining
And running at least as good
As you think you should
After the best of training.

"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses -- behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights." Muhammad Ali

B&W'S NEW REACTOR

On modular they've placed their bet
And that nuc will thrive one day yet.
Stored underground is all spent fuel.
Reactor uses air to cool.
(This one isn't wet.)

MOVIE IN RIYADH

There was a movie show in Riyadh.

It was for children and for dads.

Women weren't allowed to go.

It was the only movie show

In thirty years they've had.

BEN BERNANKE

I must say I'm thanky
That we have Ben Bernanke.
The problem he understands
And the actions it demands,
Which tend to make us cranky.

Ben Bernanke, Chairman 0f the Federal Reserve, was interviewed on "60 Minutes" Sunday evening. He is an expert on the Great Depression. I am convinced he is the right man for his job and well understands in a timely manner what's happening. The astronomical bailouts are a bitter pill, but I'm convinced Dr. Bernanke knows what is required to correct our economic crisis. I think we are fortunate to have him in his position at this time.

I understand Bernanke's house-burning-next-door analogy. We might like to just let a giant company like AIG fail for it's foolishness, but to save ourselves we have to put out the fire next door.

T. ROOSEVELT LECTURE

Saturday at the White Hart
A lecture was delivered with heart.
And we were the lucky receivers
Of the info that Robert Weaver
Came there to impart.

Weaver is a librarian at LU,
And I'm here to tell you
He is very good
At making understood
T.R., born in a top crust millieu.

This much recall I can:
T. Roosevelt was an exceptional man.
His character had appeal.
For everyone he wanted a square deal,
And assuring it was his plan.

INKLING

I really had no inkling
That we've a store named Inkling.
It has books for people smart.
It's next door to White Hart,
Which has a proper place for tinkling.

MALE PENGUIN PAIR

Neither could conceive (oh, boo hoo!)
Since one was male and the other one too.
So they applied for adoption,
That being their only option,
This penguin pair in a zoo.

A GOLDEN CATCH

Have you ever had the wish

To someday catch a fish

With a gold watch inside?

Well, unless he lied,

This man caught that fish!

LONE JOGGER AND THE MMTR

Old and slow but not a goner,
I do my jogging as a loner.
(To jog, I don't join others.
Can't keep up, so why bother?)
But I am, for sure, a honer.

And, running friends, beware.
I just might tortoise your hare
If the run goes as far
As does the MMTR.
I hope to see you there.

Eleven and fifty-nine
Will suit me just fine.
Diligently I'll pursue it.
Just maybe I can do it
If no injuries undermine.

If I finish that one, baby,
'Twill be a miracle maybe.
But 'twill be no accident
Considering the training spent
And that I am nowhere flabby.

LAUGHTER LIKENESS

A common ancestor they and we take after
Since there's a likeness in our laughters.
It's in the tickle tapes
Of people and great apes.
Have we, too, a common hereafter?

CONJUGAL DEPRESSION

Given a husband and wife,
One of them with depression rife,
Now we understand
The wife can catch it from the husband
But not the husband from the wife.

PERFECT ATTENDANCE

Got to school, stayed all day.
Never missed a day.
Credit strong will
And the Tylenol pill
For thirteen years that way.

BRAIN GAIN FROM EXERCISE

Not only the body but the brain
From physical exercise can gain.
Gray matter can linger longer;
Synapses can get stronger
And attention more slowly wane.

It's the AARP who says
It helps in numerous ways.
Even if you're past your prime,
Exercise is worth the time
And big dividends it pays.

The last paragraph of a short article posted on a bulletin board in the Altavista YMCA Fitness Center:

"According to previous studies and the AARP, exercise can help the brain in a number of ways, including improving concentration and attention, reducing gray-matter loss, promoting neurogenesis, enhancing blood flow and strengthening synapses."

COMPASSION TO THE THIEF

The store owner felt relief
That he hadn't come to grief.
Under the circumstance
He took advantage of the chance
To show compassion to the thief.

COCAINE SUITCASES

'Twas a clever use of brain
For the smuggler's intended gain.
Where did the contraband lurk
In this ruse that didn't work?
The suitcases were made of cocaine.

BITTERNESS DISORDER

It's post-traumatic embitterment disorder
If calling it a disease is in order.
You've known some victims for sure.
As for effecting a cure,
That's a pretty tall order.

OLDER-ADULT INACTIVITY SYNDROME

For an older adult, being inactive
Has consequences quite unattractive.
They are reasons for incentive.
It's best to be preventive.
It's hard to be corrective.

It's a long and scary list
Of ills to not lightly be dismissed.
When you're no longer young and strapping,
These things to you can happen
If in inactivity you persist.

OLDER-ADULT INACTIVITY SYNDROME

For an older adult, being inactive
Has consequences quite unattractive.
They are reasons for incentive.
It's best to be preventive.
It's hard to be corrective.

It's a long and scary list
Of ills to not lightly be dismissed.
When you're no longer young and strapping,
These things to you can happen
If in inactivity you persist.

OLDER-ADULT INACTIVITY SYNDROME

For an older adult, being inactive
Has consequences quite unattractive.
They are reasons for incentive.
It's best to be preventive.
It's hard to be corrective.

It's a long and scary list
Of ills to not lightly be dismissed.
When you're no longer young and strapping,
These things to you can happen
If in inactivity you persist.

OLDER-ADULT INACTIVITY SYNDROME

For an older adult, being inactive
Has consequences quite unattractive.
They are reasons for incentive.
It's best to be preventive.
It's hard to be corrective.

It's a long and scary list
Of ills to not lightly be dismissed.
When you're no longer young and strapping,
These things to you can happen
If in inactivity you persist.

OLDER-ADULT INACTIVITY SYNDROME

For an older adult, being inactive
Has consequences quite unattractive.
They are reasons for incentive.
It's best to be preventive.
It's hard to be corrective.

It's a long and scary list
Of ills to not lightly be dismissed.
When you're no longer young and strapping,
These things to you can happen
If in inactivity you persist.

OLDER-ADULT INACTIVITY SYNDROME

For an older adult, being inactive
Has consequences quite unattractive.
They are reasons for incentive.
It's best to be preventive.
It's hard to be corrective.

It's a long and scary list
Of ills to not lightly be dismissed.
When you're no longer young and strapping,
These things to you can happen
If in inactivity you persist.

OLDER-ADULT INACTIVITY SYNDROME

For an older adult, being inactive
Has consequences quite unattractive.
They are reasons for incentive.
It's best to be preventive.
It's hard to be corrective.

It's a long and scary list
Of ills to not lightly be dismissed.
When you're no longer young and strapping,
These things to you can happen
If in inactivity you persist.

NADIR SHAH

The Mughals were by then a weaker bunch,
Somewhat out to lunch
And heading for their nadir,
When along came Shah Nadir.
On their empire he meant to munch.

He slaughtered every hm and her,
Innocent and defenseless as they were,
The citizens of Delhi.
That's the kind of fellow
That was the Persian Shah Nadir.