Old and Worn#2

Twenty-two people wear 44 shoes.

Some are worn down at the heel

And some at a toe.  We can excuse

The aged spots. They’re the annealed

Crosses and scourges they had to bear.

That’s the same cause for the cracks where

They bent so many times to run, to walk,

To follow, to lead. And when the people talk

The words come effortlessly. There’s comfort

In knowing about and sharing others’efforts.

We were there and did the same as you

When you had children and when they grew,

Getting sick, puking on the couch, peeing

In bed, going to school to fill their heads

Not with knowledge but with attitudes, seeing

People and events the same way. Move ahead.

Larry and Ruthie at table.

Larry and Ruthie celebrating Ruthie's birthday anniversary at Granite City in Lincoln, NE.  In front of us is a huge chocolate chip cookie ala mode with caramel drizzle.

Thanksgiving 2013

For lives here in this place,

For lives yet to be,

And for the unknown that

Fuels our curiosity,

For the bonds of both family

and friendship given in amity;

for the air we breathe,

for the water we need,

for the food we enjoy,

and for your grace that we employ,

we offer this our Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving 2013

For lives here in this place,

For lives yet to be,

And for the unknown that

Fuels our curiosity,

For the bonds of both family

and friendship given in amity;

for the air we breathe,

for the water we need,

for the food we enjoy,

and for your grace that we employ,

we offer this our Thanksgiving.

Christmas poem

                        Saying Merry Christmas

Saying “Merry Christmas” 100 times per year

For 60 years yields nearly 6000 smiles of cheer.

Must we? And, you don’t have to have it white,

In order for Christmas to feel right.

Nor do we have to have three wise men standing

In awe beside a manger, each one handing

Over costly gifts: frankincense, myrrh, and gold.

Angels are nice, especially when they sing five-fold

Amens and Halleluiahs, announcing the birth

Of the Child, the Messiah, a King on Earth.

But we’ve had Christmases before sans seraph,

And no one reported the loss to the sheriff.

What some must have is the vision

Of a halo of love for each precision-

Made person. When you celebrate the Christ-

Child’s birth, what’s preferred? How’s it spiced?

Books by Larry

Numerous articles in referreed journals and the following books:

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, New York, Longman Publishing Group, 1993.

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, (Reprint of the 1st edition), Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 1996.

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, 2nd edition, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 1998.

Linguistics for L2 Teachers, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 2001.

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, 3rd edition, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 2006.

Language Exploration and Awareness: A Resource Book for Teachers, 3rd edition, translated into Korean language, Pagijong Press, Seoul, South Korea. 2010.

Songs of Sadness, Songs of Love (Novel). AuthorHouse. Bloomington, IN May 2010

The China-Africa Parallax (Novel). AuthorHouse. Bloomington, IN December 2010

Tell Me You Love Me

He sits on his hind-quarters
Staring at me with those beagle
Eyes hoping to finagle
Attention away from the TV reporter.

Yesterday’s expressions don’t count
Because he has no memory or
Any mental capacity to reach for
Or beyond his care-giver’s account.

Neither can he hope for tomorrow;
He has no day after this day. His
Time is now and only now is
For him, an operantly conditioned fellow.

His eyes plea, “Tell me you love me;
“Pat my head, rub my belly, say my name.”
Every day after day after day it's the same.
"Please tell me you love me."