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A Year of Poetry – Day 20

My head, my heart, mine Eyes, my life, nay more,
My joy, my Magazine of earthly store,
If two be one, as surely thou and I,
How stayest thou there, whilst I at Ipswich lye?
So many steps, head from the heart to sever
If but a neck, soon should we be together:
I like the earth this season, mourn in black,
My Sun is gone so far in’s Zodiack,
Whom whilst I ’joy’d, nor storms, nor frosts I felt,
His warmth such frigid colds did cause to melt.
My chilled limbs now nummed lye forlorn;
Return, return sweet Sol from Capricorn;
In this dead time, alas, what can I more
Then view those fruits which through thy heat I bore?
Which sweet contentment yield me for a space,
True living Pictures of their Fathers face.
O strange effect! now thou art Southward gone,
I weary grow, the tedious day so long;
But when thou Northward to me shalt return,
I wish my Sun may never set, but burn
Within the Cancer of my glowing breast,
The welcome house of him my dearest guest.
Where ever, ever stay, and go not thence,
Till natures sad decree shall call thee hence;
Flesh of thy flesh, bone of thy bone,
I here, thou there, yet both but one.
by daddybear71 on May 13, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 13, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/13/a-year-of-poetry-day-20/

Restaurant Review – Roosters Wings

Roosters is a regional chain, with restaurants in Kentucky and Ohio.  There are three locations in Louisville, one of them only a few minutes’ drive from the fair grounds.

The menu consists of chicken wings (of course), burgers, and sandwiches, and salads. My personal favorite is the Big Bob’s Burger, although the Cajun chicken sandwich is also tasty.  Their wings are flavorful, with varying levels of heat to meet the diner’s tastes.  The nachos deluxe can be a meal unto itself.

The two locations I’ve visited in Louisville have well-stocked bars, with a good selection of mass-market beers and soft-drinks.

Roosters is a pretty economical choice, too.  Depending on what you drink and your appetizers, a meal for one person is usually between $10 and $20.

Their tag line of “A Fun, Casual Joint” is spot on.  The atmosphere is relaxed and relatively family friendly.  If you’re looking for a place to relax, have a good meal and a few drinks, and watch sports on their many television screens, this is a good candidate.

by daddybear71 on May 12, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Review, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 12, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/12/restaurant-review-roosters-wings/

A Year of Poetry – Day 19

I loved you once: perhaps that love has yet
To die down thoroughly within my soul;
But let it not dismay you any longer;
I have no wish to cause you any sorrow.
I loved you wordlessly, without a hope,
By shyness tortured, or by jealousy.
I loved you with such tenderness and candor
And pray God grants you to be loved that way again.

-- Pushkin, I loved You
by daddybear71 on May 12, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 12, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/12/a-year-of-poetry-day-19/

A Year of Poetry – Day 18

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
— Lord Byron, She Walks In Beauty
by daddybear71 on May 11, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 11, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/11/a-year-of-poetry-day-18/

A Year of Poetry – Day 17

That you are fair or wise is vain,
Or strong, or rich, or generous;
You must have also the untaught strain
That sheds beauty on the rose.
There is a melody born of melody,
Which melts the world into a sea.
Toil could never compass it,
Art its height could never hit,
It came never out of wit,
But a music music-born
Well may Jove and Juno scorn.
Thy beauty, if it lack the fire
Which drives me mad with sweet desire,
What boots it? what the soldier’s mail,
Unless he conquer and prevail?
What all the goods thy pride which lift,
If thou pine for another’s gift?
Alas! that one is born in blight,
Victim of perpetual slight;—
When thou lookest in his face,
Thy heart saith, Brother! go thy ways!
None shall ask thee what thou doest,
Or care a rush for what thou knowest,
Or listen when thou repliest,
Or remember where thou liest,
Or how thy supper is sodden,—
And another is born
To make the sun forgotten.
Surely he carries a talisman
Under his tongue;
Broad are his shoulders, and strong,
And his eye is scornful,
Threatening, and young.
I hold it of little matter,
Whether your jewel be of pure water,
A rose diamond or a white,—
But whether it dazzle me with light.
I care not how you are drest,
In the coarsest, or in the best,
Nor whether your name is base or brave,
Nor tor the fashion of your behavior,—
But whether you charm me,
Bid my bread feed, and my fire warm me,
And dress up nature in your favor.
One thing is forever good,
That one thing is success,—
Dear to the Eumenides,
And to all the heavenly brood.
Who bides at home, nor looks abroad,
Carries the eagles, and masters the sword.

 

— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fate

by daddybear71 on May 10, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 10, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/10/a-year-of-poetry-day-16-2/

A Year of Poetry – Day 16

Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old—
This knight so bold—
And o’er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow—
“Shadow,” said he,
“Where can it be—
This land of Eldorado?”

“Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,”
The shade replied—
“If you seek for Eldorado!”

— Edgar Allen Poe, El Dorado

by daddybear71 on May 9, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 9, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/09/a-year-of-poetry-day-16/

A Year of Poetry – Day 15

 

LIFE, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall?
Rapidly, merrily,
Life’s sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily
Enjoy them as they fly!
What though Death at times steps in,
And calls our Best away?
What though sorrow seems to win,
O’er hope, a heavy sway?
Yet Hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell;
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
Manfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell despair!

— Charlotte Bronte, Life

by daddybear71 on May 8, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 8, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/08/a-year-of-poetry-day-15/

Musings

  • It occurs to me that Kentucky Derby horses need names more appropriate to the event:
    • Infield Indiscretion
    • Floppy Hat
    • Julep Jezebel
    • Nuclear Sunburn
    • Cheap Bourbon Hangover
  • Girlie Bear went with her JROTC group on Friday night to help clean up from the Kentucky Oaks.  Last year she had to tell several adults that the taped-up two-liters they were picking up in the parking lot were probably from meth labs and they really ought to leave them alone.  This year, she picked up a beer can in the parking lot and noticed that it had four or five used hypodermic needles in it.  Good times, good times.
  • It is not a good idea to skip lunch when you’re smoking a turkey near an open window.
  • The garden is pretty much in the ground.  Now to fight off the advance of nature in its never-ending quest to strangle anything I put in the ground.
by daddybear71 on May 7, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Thought for the day, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 7, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/07/musings-193/

A Year of Poetry – Day 14

You did not come,
And marching Time drew on, and wore me numb,—
Yet less for loss of your dear presence there
Than that I thus found lacking in your make
That high compassion which can overbear
Reluctance for pure lovingkindness’ sake
Grieved I, when, as the hope-hour stroked its sum,
You did not come.
You love not me,
And love alone can lend you loyalty;
–I know and knew it. But, unto the store
Of human deeds divine in all but name,
Was it not worth a little hour or more
To add yet this: Once you, a woman, came
To soothe a time-torn man; even though it be
You love not me?
— Thomas Hardy, A Broken Appointment
by daddybear71 on May 7, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 7, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/07/a-year-of-poetry-day-14/

Things to do in Louisville That Don’t Involve 70,000 People

So, you’re coming to Louisville for the NRA Annual Meeting, and you need something to do that’s not the NRAAM?

Well, here’s a short list of things to do in Louisville while you’re not walking the floor or listening to politicians try to convince you to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

  1. Louisville Zoo – OK, I’m biased on this one, because I’ve been taking kids to the zoo for almost two decades and Irish Woman does volunteer work there.  The zoo is well laid out, and includes attractions such as the Glacier Run Arctic exhibit, a very neat gorilla and Africa exhibit, and the most strategically placed splash park in North America.  A recently added bonus is the cutest baby gorilla I’ve ever seen.  Tickets are $16.25 for adults, $11.75 for children and seniors.
  2. Kentucky Kingdom – This amusement park is probably the most convenient attraction to the NRAAM, seeing as they share a parking lot.  The park includes the usual fare of roller coasters and other rides, but also has the Hurricane Bay water park.  Tickets are about $40 apiece, and you have the added bonus of looking at the underside of wide body jets and Air National Guard aircraft as they land at Louisville International.
  3. Holiday World – The alternative amusement park for Louisville, Holiday World is about an hour’s drive or so across the Ohio River in Indiana.  Many consider this a top of the line, family friendly amusement park, and admission includes access to the Splashin’ Safari water park.  Tickets for a day range from about $30 to about $40.
  4. Frazier Arms Museum – OK, you’ve walked the floor at NRAAM, but really want to see an exquisite historical firearms exhibit and enjoy living history presentations, so where do you go?  The Frazier has all that and more.  Admission is $12 for adults, $8 for children.
  5. Louisville Slugger Museum – Enjoy baseball-related historical exhibits and see how the famous bats are made.  Tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for kids.  Remember, though, the souvenir bats can’t be in your carry-on luggage when you fly home, no matter how small they are.
  6. Louisville Bats Baseball – The Bats will be playing the Columbus Clippers at home the same weekend as NRAAM, and Saturday night will be “Star Wars” night.  Slugger Field is an outstanding baseball venue, and tickets range anywhere from $10 to $30 apiece.
  7. The Parklands – A newly completed system of suburban/rural parks that lie along Floyd’s Fork in Jefferson County.  The park has something for just about everyone, especially families with kids.  A great place to walk, run, bike, or just play.
  8. Knob Creek Range – OK, you get to look at and handle guns at the NRAAM, but what if you want to actually shoot?  KCR is located about 20 minutes south of Louisville, and your $10 admission gets you on the range for the entire day.  Get there early on Saturday or Sunday, though, as things get busy early.
  9. Louisville Armory – Located just a few minutes away from the fairgrounds, Louisville Armory is a great place to shoot.  Prices are $25 an hour for one person, but only $35 for two people to share a lane for an hour.
  10. Bourbon Tours – If you want to know where the brownest of the brown liquors comes from, take advantage of the multiple distillery tours available within an hour or so of Louisville.  The Kentucky Bourbon Trail can direct you to some of your favorites, but we also enjoy Buffalo Trace and Maker’s Mark.

Hope y’all find this helpful.  If you have other suggestions or questions, hit the comments section.

by daddybear71 on May 6, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in nraam2016, Uncategorized

Posted by daddybear71 on May 6, 2016

https://daddybearsden.com/2016/05/06/things-to-do-in-louisville-that-dont-involve-70000-people/

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