The 5th Toe

The pinky toe is referred to as the 5th toe or the outermost toe, in podiatry circles.  One potential problem with the outermost toe is the presence of lister corns, which can be painful and may preclude the wearing of all shoes in one's closet. 

Lister corns are named after the father of modern surgery, Mr. Joseph Lister.  Mr. Lister figured out that germ free surgeries were a ton better than germy surgeries.  For that we thank him.  

Not sure why the lister corn bear's Lister's name.  Did he suffer from these pesky 5th toe corns himself or did someone decide that naming a corn after him could be a great way to honor this great man? 

I read about lister corns all the time.  Just about every day.  Tomorrow I'll talk about lister corns with a professional.  Lister corns have been around a long time, but there doesn't seem to be too much one can do about them, besides live with excruciating pain. 

The Demand

Today I wrote an email of concern to the Bloomington Writer's Guild about my disappointment with their Poetry On Demand booth which was set up at the Fourth Street Festival on Labor Day weekend.  

On a cheerful lark, I approached the Poetry on Demand booth on Sunday last.  I engaged in some chitchat, donated 10$ and requested a haiku. The poet told me to come back later and he would have my haiku.  "Go enjoy the festival," he said and I decided not to tell him that I had already enjoyed the festival for a considerable amount of time.  I was not thrilled that the haiku would not be written "on demand," but I took another amble around the festival and picked out some earrings.  I also talked to some friends. In short, I allowed for plenty of time for the writing of a haiku before returning to the booth.

And yet, upon my return, the haiku was still not written.  I told the "poet" that I had to leave, so he took my address and said he would send the haiku via snail mail.  

One week later. No haiku has arrived.  For five days, I have hoped for my haiku to appear in my letterbox despite Husbandman's confident, and somewhat dispiriting, comments that the haiku would not be in the letterbox and would in fact never be in the letterbox.

I told the 3rdLanders about this situation on Friday morning and was sad when a 3rdLander yelled out, "Do not trust people!" I told him that it's okay to trust people, but probably we should all write our own haiku. 

In my email, I told the Writer's Guild that I wanted no return of funds, but hoped they could improve the Poetry on Demand experience for future donors. 

ps Truly annoyed at this stretch of white space that I can't get rid of for some reason. 

Hello Writ

Last week I attended the 4th Street Arts Festival.  I went to your Poetry on Demand booth and requested a haiku.

The poet told me he had a queue of poems to write so I should come back later and he would have it for me.  I donated 10$ and

walked around the festival again.  

I was actually surprised that the poem would not be created on the spot, but I understood that others wer haiku was still not written and I told the poet I needed to leave t

He took my address and said he would send the poem in the mail.  It’s now been a week since the festival and I’ve gotten no haiku in the mail.

I don’t want any compensation.  My donation was happily given.  

BUT…. I think you should know that my Poetry on Demand experience was far from what I expected.  

I hope future visitors to this booth will have a better experience.

Thank you,

Lee Heffernan

Hello Writer

Last week I attended the 4th Street Arts Festival.  I went to your Poetry on Demand booth and requested a haiku.

The poet told me he had a queue of poems to write so I should come back later and he would have it for me.  I donated 10$ and

walked around the festival again.  

I was actually surprised that the poem would not be created on the spot, but I understood that others were also waiting for their poems.

I walked around again and came back 30 minutes later.  The haiku was still not written and I told the poet I needed to leave the festival.

He took my address and said he would send the poem in the mail.  It’s now been a week since the festival and II don’t want any compensation.  My donation was happily given.  

BUT…. I think you should know that my Poetry on Demand experience was far from what I expected.  

I hope future visitors to this booth will have a better exp

The Clicks

Saw a movie on campus last week called Rogue Agent. It's about a man.  Past that I can't tell you much without spoiling. But you should see it if you want.  I think it's streaming somewhere.  V. good.

Today I opened my NYT online and saw a link to an article about Elizabeth Strout.  My finger hovered over the headline, in the clicking position, but I hesitated.  I had this horrible feeling that I might read something in the article that would make me like Elizabeth Strout less than I do and I just couldn't handle that. Later, still thinking about Elizabeth Strout, I changed my mind, figuring that I had a 50/50 chance of finding out something that would make me like her even more than I currently do.  I clicked and read about her cool writing life.  She writes all the time.  She also plays piano.  She lives in Maine.  Her husband seems like a nice enough guy. So, I found out that I like her exactly the same amount after reading the article.  In short, nothing ventured nothing gained.  Or, more accurately---something ventured, nothing lost or gained.

We spent a long time waiting for lattes this afternoon.  We ordered them "for here," and yet we didn't get our drinks in the shop's beautiful orange cups and saucers, just paper cups with plastic lids. That made me wonder where we went wrong in the ordering process. (I know.... don't blame the victim). Also, we had to wait longer than I would have preferred.  While waiting I wrote this haiku:

local coffee shop

you thank us for our patience

we want coffee now