...just when I thought I'd seen everything

when most people hear of "Taps" being played...
they think of a setting like this...



a funeral, memorial service or some other solemn occasion...
a bugler or trumpeter... in some sort of uniform...
playing these hauntingly poignant notes...
that we all associate with a final good-bye...
and that I've played hundreds of times...

but never before like I did today...

I had no trumpet or bugle on my hand...
just this...



but, I digress...first, some back story...

I was singing for a funeral at the church...
the "departed" having been in the Coast Guard...
I was approached just before the service by Fr.G...
and a uniformed member of the U.S.C.G.Honor Guard...
who were there to fold the flag & present it to the family...
while "Taps" was being played...

he handed me the above pictured object...
and asked me if I could,"Turn it on, when the time came...
then press,"Play"..." as Taps was recorded on it...
that's all I had to do...

they just needed a button pusher...
& I was through singing then...

the irony was NOT lost on me...
that he was asking the one person in the room ...
who could have actually played Taps on a bugle...
to play the pre-recorded version...

funerals already being a time of rumination for me...
on the, all too swift, passage of our years here on earth...
this new revelation was just another way ...
that the things I'd spent my whole life doing...
were becoming less & less, a part of my life...

my services were,"no longer needed..."

& this realization has left me feeling tired & expendable...

I used to think of Taps as a last service that I could give...
a final salute...an ultimate gesture of respect for services rendered...
to country, honor, duty & God...

now... not so much...

being that it takes no skill, art or control to press the "play" button...
the effort required to "perform" well, under stressful circumstances...
has been replaced by no effort or skill at all...
just a well-charged battery...

I remember the many times I've had to focus my attention to play...
blocking out the grief of family members & mourners that surrounded me...
as if my focus and determination to do a good job...
while innundated by grief & loss, honored the sacrifice of the departed...
more completely than just pressing a button ever could...

the inventor's idea was to have this...



an insert inside of a bugle, held by an Honor Guard member...
so that no one would have to rely on finding or paying...
a real trumpeter who could actually still play the music...
and that the ever-increasing need for funeral buglers would be easily met...

the "Ceremonial Bugle" comes with options...



The American Ceremonial Bugle. Nickel silver 17 inch bugle,
New silver insert that plays "Taps" and other calls*. Hard shell carry case.

Price: $525 (48 states)



Those who have already purchased our original Ceremonial Bugle
can now upgrade to the new programmable insert
which includes new 2 inch speaker, Silver finish to match bugle,
USB 2.0, improved sound quality and 100MB memory for additional calls.
Free software available on our website.

We will provide one per bugle
and we will need the original invoice number
or serial number from current insert as proof of purchase.
Inserts carry a 1 year warranty.

Price: $170 inc. US shipping.

one can download "Calls" for US military branches...
British military branches & South African military branches...
with more available soon...

The Ceremonial Bugle was developed by Simon Britton,
Vice President of S & D Consulting.
Mr. Britton is a consultant from Newcastle upon Tyne, England,
who moved to the United States 13 years ago.
Based in New York City, S & D Consulting
seeks to enhance people’s lives
through the application of emerging technologies.

the sound wasn't tinny or "canned" sounding...
and is probably preferable to a bad player...
especially from a family member's point of view...

it was developed to be a better alternative to a CD or tape...
but though the performance is well-played and artful...
it will, to me anyway, always lack the "heart"...
and appreciation for the service & sacrifice of the departed...
found in the performance by a live player...

but then, I seem to have become obsolete in so many other ways...
especially in the last couple of years...

perhaps my thoughts & feelings are too...

...roses before the storm

the weatherchannel has rain & strong wind warnings out...
for this area from late this evening into & through tomorrow...
it may all fizzle out & be nothing...
but it is getting quite cloudy outside...

and the barometric pressure is dropping...
not to mention the rain now coming onshore...
north of the Bay Area...

oh, & the outside temperature has dropped 3˚...
in the last 15 minutes...

so now I'm glad I took a few minutes to take these shots...
this morning around noon, before going down to the church...

of the lemon tree in it's fragrant blooming frenzy...
and the roses in their maturing beauty, with thankfulness...
for all the rain & sunshine which caused this early bounty...
because the coming storm will wipe away much of it...













the Lord giveth & the Lord taketh away...
Blessed be the name of the Lord...

...raindrops on roses

by the time I was ready to put out the trash, it was raining...



as I looked out, I noticed that despite the rain...
the light was causing the roses to glow...
the lack of glare allows the inner depth of color to be revealed...



and the gentle, though steady rain...
seems to make the roses even more perky...
[I know, the term is turgid...]



and the shutterbug in me likes the prospect of...
"raindrops on roses..."



this is a great example of one of my favorite things...
[as well as, more dumb luck...]

the rest speak for themselves...
[& yes, I got really wet taking these...]

...the remains of a rainy day

on a rainy day when I have to be gone...
[or even if I'm home...]
some things are, a "given"...



in my bedroom...
where ever Fluff curls up to sleep...
Piglet will be on top of her...



Molly stays in her crate when I'm gone...
I only have to say,"go to your bed"...
and she's there, sometimes, even before I tell her...
with a hoof or bone to chew away the hours...

she looks expectant here...
because I just gave her the last bite...
of my breakfast[ham on toast]...
and, ever the opportunist, is open to "more"...



but in the rest of the house,[ie "Kitty City"]...
since Thomas has been gone...
the nesting spot preferences have changed...
as well as the groupings...

there is a cat perch level with the window...
with a cat tree you can see on the left...
and another you can't see by the French door windows on the right...
as well as numerous other "nests" & kitty beds...
not mention the dog nest/lair strewn with toys & bones...
close to the fireplace...



I just washed the pad for this window perch...
and it has become the sunning/snoozing location of choice...
for,[front to back] Lucyfur, Mackie...
Murphy[his sister] in the middle...
with red Charlie & black MJ in the back...



here, from a different angle...
Mz Lucyfur mugging for the camera...
Murph, playing hard-to-get...
with Charlie keeping a wary eye on me...
Mack & MJ have no interest in the festivities..



if you look up to the top of the cat tree...
Lacy, who enjoys solitude from other felines...
is enjoying herself, ever alert if I should create a lap for her...
while MJ, who woke up is washing Charlies' face...



her sister Cagney, after having hung out in the bathroom...
until I chased her out, after a l-o-n-g drink of faucet drips...
is at the top of the other cat tree...
keeping an eye out for SPie, who devils her...

having accounted for all the furry beasties...
except Sneaky Pie... I went looking for her...



she wasn't on top of the nook pantry shelf...
nor in the hall nest or on top of any office book cases...
or on top of any pantry shelves...

finding her absence strange, even for her...
& being aware that she has been known to slip out doors...
I looked again... & then, again...

then I looked down...



as much as she loves high places...
I might have known that with no fire in the fireplace...
she'd have found the next best spot...
on top of the furnace floor grate...

the one away from Molly's nest...
[Molly defends her crate & the environs from cats...
only, when she's inside...]



and how did the window snoozers take the news of SPie's safety ?

with their usual lack of interest...
though Lucy isn't in this shot because she sensed a petting opportunity...
and came over to make a pest of herself...

when I arrive home in a bit...
I fully expect to see them all in basically the same spots...
though Molly, on her release will relocate to her lair...
to chew toys, count her bone stash & yip at any feline...
who would dare venture within 5 feet of her treasure trove...

in other words, a normal day...

...life can be like the first roses of Spring

life can be a total surprise sometimes...
like this picture I took without being able to see the screen...
probably one of the most beautiful shots I've ever captured...
click on it, make it bigger, it just gets better...
just plain dumb luck... or was it ?



some shots are obvious...
such as this deep red bud opening beautifully...
the color, rich & vibrant...
like the optimism, vigor & energy of youth...



all too soon giving way to the bounty of maturity...
a depth of color and a openness to the elements...
an acceptance of all that will be...
not found in the beauty or promise of youth...



a knowledge that the petals will fall away soon enough...
but for now, they curl ever so gently...
and the depth of color glows as if lit from within...
never to be so deep or rich again...

soon, not to be, at all...



though the edges are frayed from rain & wind...
the center is still beautiful...
as it opens itself slowly to the sun...
the beginnings of the end...



some, like those with false humility, look down...
perfect in their aspect, without flaw or scar...
believing in their heart that they are beautiful...
so in looking down, call to be lifted up...



others, though scarred, look up at something else...
much more beautiful than themselves...
they dismiss their own worth for the prize of the light...
and are found more beautiful because of it...



with eyes only for the light...
they turn away from all who would esteem them for their beauty...
choosing instead, the light that they revere...
becoming all the more beautiful for that turning...



some choose the shadows, their colors deepened...
letting their beauty go unappreciated...
due to an accident of nature, a flaw of character...
or a choice to linger in the shadows, where the light doesn't shine...



sometimes, we find ourselves in an alien place...
our push towards the light has brought us up in strange surroundings...
our blooming given the incongruity...
of being awash in a sea of wrong leaves...

unequally yoked, so to speak...

alone, in a foreign setting...

standing out in strangeness...



when it's always nice to be surrounded by others we feel a connection to...



nice to be part of the family...

..."Say Kids,....."

nope...not anymore...

today, is TAX TIME...
[though Doodyville, with all it's lunacy might be easier to deal with...
than the angst I develop around April 15...]



and since last year, I actually had to PAY the state...
I'd been procrastinating as only I can do...
though I did have some help organizing my records...
[my own "purr-sonal" "pee-nut gallery", so to speak...
that is, they will pee on anything I need to keep...]

Mz Sneaky Pie knocked over & scattered all my papers...
then both she & MJ got that, "what can I do next?" look...



so I took the piles of paper into the bedroom to sort...
but after being "helped" there by Piglet AND Fluff...
[they have quite the unique sorting /filing system...]
I gave up & took all I could find to the church...
where I could, "spread out" in peace...
and go online for copies of records I needed...

now Jesus told us...



and I have no problem with "doing my share"...
my issues are with all the folks with a LOT of money...
who are able to avoid paying anything...
when I have a VERY fixed income & haven't yet found a paying gig...
[I believe that God will provide for my needs...
but that's a different, far less snarky, post...]

so last year, because of my severe financial problems...
I had to access/drain savings & investment accounts...
and because these were tax sheltered annuities...
AND I didn't fully clean them out in 2008...
I had to pay taxes on the money I took out...
without getting any recoup on my losses...
even though I'd lost a bunch of my original investment...

my house was/is



AND since I am unemployed, I can't redo my mortgage until I get a job...

I was, in essence, quite...

not only having to pay the state for the first time EVER...
between the tax prep fee and the state tax bill...
it took the entire Fed refund, plus a bit...
to cover my debt to CA & HRB...

but that was 2008... this year, I killed off those accounts...



which had lost THOUSANDS of dollars of my original investments...



money I could really use now...

but, it was gone...
the markets have started a recovery, but my money is gone...
so once again, I knew I was...



with 2/3 months worth of money left...
now I'd have to pay taxes on the last of the money I'd used...
what I needed was a miracle...

my tax prep lady worked her way through the statements...
muttering about original investments, capital gains...
taxes I'd had to pay when I cashed-out the accounts...
then she showed me my "income" & my tax liability...

then she showed me my refund !
[about 2/3 months worth of living expenses...!]
and then she said that my "loss" of over $13,000...
had a cap of $3000 per year, so I would have 3 more years...
to spread the total loss, which meant I recapped some of my lost funds...



so instead of running out of money around July...
I may make it to September...
and hopefully, find a job BEFORE then...

I had thought the loan I got in January would last a lot longer than it will...

but there were several BIG expenses...
[property taxes, new glasses, annual insurance premiums, vet bills...]
and there are a couple to come...
[biannual car insurance premium, tax prep fee, home repairs...]

I, for one, would like to see some better deductions...
so those of us who have to pay self-employment tax on the little we earn...
might be able to keep more of it on a regular basis...

I don't know about your situation, but for me...



this, would be ideal...