[rottndog]

Wow. It's a lot more complex than it looks, when you put it in writing.

[Monkey Face]

Actually, the directions for knitting and crocheting are like learning another language. When I first got sick, I couldn't read patterns in a language I had known since I was 14.

I could remember simple patterns, but couldn't read new ones. I still have days like that, but thankfully, not as many or so close together!

[NicknamedBob]

"Wow. It's a lot more complex than it looks, when you put it in writing."

I tried to put the compexity (of subatomic particles) into writing ...

S.A.N.D. ... Summertime, and the living is ... sandy.

Sand gets in the carpet. Sand gets in your shoes.
Fight to keep the sand out, I guarantee you’ll lose.
The toddlers in the sandbox, teenagers at the beach,
It even gets down in my shorts, where it’s rude to even reach.

Where does all the sand come from? How did we get so much?
It is a longish story, but it has a pleasant touch.
Find a grain of sand somewhere. You needn’t look too far.
There may be some left in your shoe. There’s more out by the car.

Hold that little grain of sand where you can see it close.
I’m going to explain exactly how we got this healthy dose.
You’ll see it sparkle as it turns, reflecting gleams of light,
But there’s a lighter side as well, if you’ll hear my fancy flight.

Each single grain of sand is more. It’s silicon dioxide, Si and then two Os,
Three million billion molecules, and here’s what they compose.
The silicon has fourteen parts that are quite positive,
They’re mated up with neutral ones which have some peace to give.

Twenty-eight bits of whichness all mixed up in a what,
And circled round with wonderment that’s tied up in a knot.
The Os that hang around it are not just airy moons,
Each has eight bits of fire within, and eight water balloons.

Sixteen pieces more then, of whatness in a where.
And not just in the sand but it’s one fifth of all our air.
And out there in the water, nine-tenths of all of that,
Though you may get it in your nose, it’s not for sneezing at.

Every one of these small things was made so long ago,
We think they are forever, but I must tell you no.
God put these things together. A blessing is in each.
If you want to count your blessings, you can start down at the beach.

NicknamedBob . . . . . April 8, 2004