Armistice and Irony by Josephine A. Baker

My Grammy's Poem: A true story

Armistice - And Irony

I can see them yet, as they marched away,
So debonair, so brave, so gay!
I can see them yet, as they turned to wave,
The smiles erased from their faces grave.
And as I stood there, turned to stone,
The sun's last glint from their rifles shone.

I can still see my Mother, with face so white
And my Father, standing so still,
Trying to think that all was right,
Trying to feel like it was God's will.
Yes, we all tried to be as brave as they,
As my husband and brother marched away.

After many a weary month and long
Came the news, more cheering than the happiest song.
The whistles were blowing, the bells were ringing.
Everywhere people were shouting and singing.
"The War is over at last" cried they,
And the sad old World became hysteric'ly gay.
We looked at each other through tears of joy
And Mother murmered softly, "My boy, my boy!".

Happy plans for their return we made.
I tremble even now, as these mem'ries fade.
"Killed in action", the telegram bore.
"Killed in action"; weary brain repeated o'er and o'er.
Yes, the bells were ringing,
They should have tolled!
The sound of bells will turn me faint and cold
Forevermore.
My brother had died the day before.

I NEVER KNEW THAT

I have been using Google Chrome almost since its debut.  A few years ago, I noticed that many new computers offer only Edge.  Since I use many Google Chrome features, I ignored the new Edge, except when word processing.

Then I bought a really inexpensive Acer, and Edge was part of the package.  It wasn't long before I wound up back with Chrome.

I got rid of the cheap Acer when I learned that it had only a mega-chip, and no hard drive.  A local firm explained that to me, so I told them to rig me up one of their dinosaurs, so I could have a hard drive.

My dinosaur is an old Compaq, which pretty much has all I need except speed.

No speed is needed for word processing, or even for an older version of Photoshop.  But the darned thing also came with Edge.

Accordingly, I installed Chrome and made it my default.

Until... until I learned that Facebook somehow came up all wrong.  It was closer to the FB on my Android devices.

I didn't like that, so I tried Edge, and voila FB came up properly.

Most, Very, Horribly, Unfortunately, the darned thing is not only full of ads, but those ads have a tendency to open either a new window or new tab.

Instant slowdown!  I put up with that for a very short while, and swore I would learn to love the FB on Chrome.

Well, TA-DA, FB now comes up okay on Chrome.  Every now and then I try EDGE to see if it had different news, or whatever, and the tab and window onslaught began again.

Enough.  No more EDGE.  I don't even care to find out how to fix it.

Just apropos of nothing in particular.

JJ Leander is my pen name, and I now have five books out. Two are racy novelettes, and three are re-imaginings of the Rosary Mysteries, only from a fictional view point.

The racy novelettes are not x-rated, but the viewpoint is adult.  There are many mysteries of Christianity included, hidden in the stories.  I would not recommend them for anyone under 18.

My books are popular--among my family and friends, of course.  I am writing because I never had time to write when I was working.  For many years I worked either one or two jobs, because we needed to pay living expenses.

More about that another time.

When I finally stopped working, it was because my health, MS, Arthritis, Hypertension, Asthma, pain, depression and anxiety finally crashed me.

Completely.  I had been fighting advice to stop, because we needed to pay expenses.

I was so very overdue for rest and recuperation, that I was IMMEDIATELY approved for disability.

We learned that it is ridiculous to expect a sick person to work.  If you are sick and you think it is killing you, you are probably right.  I learned that I was so fragile that some of the treatments for MS nearly killed me.  Twice.

I am living the dream now.  I am hopelessly behind in housework, and now do not give a ___  whether or not it is done.  I write when I am not too tired and I research only when I am feeling pretty chipper.

My writing will never pay for itself.  If you are truly interested look up JJ Leander in the Kindle section of Amazon.  Eventually I will put them all in paperback.

Someday.  Maybe.  Or maybe not.