The Hourglass Maker

My occupation here
is to put air on sand
into hourglasses,
breathing time into curved glass.

There are certain formulas for the careful extraction.
The air must be pulled from precise locations-
The small passage near the left ventricle of the heart.
From tiny pockets between vertebrae of the upper spine.
And there are cavities behind the eyes,
air is brought in and stored there,
not by breath but by glance.

this last location is also the hardest,
the eyes must be seared by horrific sights
to produce and harvest spit tears
that are then destructive-distilled for their contents.
All of which are breathed in
to be breathed out
into the hourglass.

--John Hamilton

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Organ Donation

When he was healthy, Johnny told me he wanted to donate his organs. When I called the morgue on Monday, 1 1/2 days after his death, his autopsy was completed and he was already on a plane to NY. No one on the scene, not the fire department, county sheriff, local sheriff or the transport company asked me or his family about his organ donation wishes. The hospital where the autopsy was performed did not either. They were supplied with many family members' phone numbers. When I complained to the Medical Examiner's office about this, the office told me that when people die at home organ donation wishes "slip through the cracks." No one bothers to ask. I think that is an unacceptable excuse.

Therefore, I would like to urge people who wish to donate their organs to become more informed than I was. Here is one link to follow: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organ-donation/FL00077

Posted by Ashley or Johnny at 9:40 PM 0 comments

Sunday, April 8, 2007

John and Dexter


My aunt Paula took this photo of John and lawn jockey, Dexter, at my family's vacation house in Glen Arbor, Michigan. In September, 2006 my dad and Janis got married at the house and so my silly aunts', Paula and Sue, independently decided to buy a veil for Dexter to wear. During the ceremony Paula's dog wore one and Scruffy spontaneously walked down the aisle in it. They put the other veil on the bass head on the wall. Later, Dexter wore the veil and John wanted his picture taken with him. Each year John and I vacationed here to our favorite place and I begged him to drag the heavy Jockey, whom I randomly named Dexter, out of the garage for our amusement.
We were also to be married here. I hope our friends and family will please join me up here this summer in May and/or August to enjoy our favorite place, and share our John stories. The backyard is on the beach where he loved to make bonfires and watch the sun go down and watch the amazenly bright stars. In the day he loved taking the boats out and walking in the woods and along the beach. I can not bear going up there without him so if you come, it will feel like he is here!

Posted by Ashley at 12:48 PM 0 comments
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