Thursday, March 18, 2004

Meticulous

Meticulous was the word
That came to mom and me
Simultaneously to describe
Dad and how he approached almost
Everything he did in life.

A list of everything to take for a ski trip
Researching skis or tennis rackets
Or wine before buying the best.
Packing the car so well that
We sometimes took pictures of the
Full trunk, then the pile of stuff
It had held.

Wanting to be at the base of the lift
Before it started for the day.
Telling us to be sure we had everything we wanted
But bringing all of what we needed
Because he was the dad.
Skiing behind the rest of the family
To be sure we were all safe
As we went down the slopes.

Blocks of wood to hold skis at the right height
For waxing, kept in the same black tool box
With the iron, files, waxes, and straps.
Knots on a string to strength his eyes.
The logic of the Atkins diet
Or Nutri-system’s strict rules.

A pad of narrow white lined paper
With columns for the date of an invoice,
The name of the provider, the amount of the bill,
The amount paid, and the amount remaining due,
All written with a freshly sharpened Ticonderoga #3 pencil.
Juggling bills.

The precision of the cabinets
In our kitchen,
Made by his hands
Or of the boards to traverse the slope
In the few inches between
The porch and the kitchen
Cut just right in his shop.

Masonry drill bits, nail guns, studs
To hold pegboard to the cement walls
For his organized tools.

Making a backyard ice rink
Just so, in spite of the dip in the back left corner,
With patient, thin layers of water
To keep the ice where we wanted it.

Explaining to a Friendly’s waiter or waitress
How to make a vanilla milkshake
With lime sherbet ice cream
(You have to blend it extra to get it smooth).
How to make a Big Beef with the setup,
Or a salad plate without the extra lettuce
For presentation.

He knew what he wanted and
How to do it.
Just so.



------ 
edited December 29, 2015
Demons – v2
edited December 29, 2015
Did You Hear Her Cry – v2
edited December 29, 2015
The Crash – v2
edited December 18, 2015
The Submariner – v2
&
edited December 17, 2015
Meticulous – v2
&
edited December 18, 2015
Adam Asked – v2
==========
edited October 22, 2015
Did you brace for impact – v2
edicted October 22, 2015
Mile Marker 19 – v8
(editing original)
edited October 5, 2015
Like the Venus Fly Trap – v9
(editing version 5)
&
edited October 3, 2015
Why on this day – v3
(editing original)
edited October 19, 2014
Why on this day – v2
July 1, 2014
Why on this day
“My Prayers Weekend!”
“Next Day Stretch”
draft a note to God
about a day when you struggled
with a big question
for June 29, 2014
read June 30, 2014
&
edited June 27, 2014
A vivid memory – v2
June 27, 2014
A vivid memory
Matthew 28:20 (NRSV)
Romans 8:31-39
Upper Room Daily Devotional
“In Dark Times”
by Don Greeley
about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
for June 26, 2014
read June 27, 2014
Upper Room Daily Devotional
for March and April 2014
&
edited August 15, 2015
Here it comes – v3
(editing version 2)
edited January 12, 2014
Here it comes – v2
January 12, 2014
Here it comes
January 12, 2014
I am not ready
(conversation by Dean McKenney about his
bad car accident 40 years ago)
January 12, 2014
an accounting to God
January 12, 2014
Honor their walk
Romans 14:10-12
Romans 14:1-12
Romans 14
Men’s Bible Study
led by Steve Curtis
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
January 12, 2014
&
edited August 4, 2015
Like the Venus Fly Trap – v8
(editing version 5)
edited May 9, 2015
Ten Years – v2
April 23, 2004
Ten Years
see also
-------
edited January 11, 2014
Mile Marker 19 – v7
(editing version 6)
Edited November 9, 2013
Mile Marker 19 – v6
(editing version 3)
-------
edited March 21, 2015
Like the Venus Fly Trap – v7
(editing version 5)
edited December 3, 2014
Like the Venus Fly Trap – v6
(editing version 3)
Edited November 9, 2013
“Like the Venus Fly Trap – v5”
Edited October 24, 2013
“Like the Venus Fly Trap – v4”
Edited October 11, 2013
“Like the Venus Fly Trap – v3”
Edited December 26, 2012
“Like the Venus Fly Trap – v2”
December 20, 2012
“Like the Venus Fly Trap”
edited February 11, 2014
“hiding in the ice – v9”
edited January 4, 2014
“hiding in the ice – v8”
(editing version 5)
Edited September 28, 2013
“hiding in the ice – v7”
 (editing version 3)
Edited September 28, 2013
“hiding in the ice – v6”
(editing version 2)
Edited September 25, 2013
“hiding in the ice – v5”
Edited August 2, 2013
“hiding in the ice – v4”
Edited December 26, 2012
“hiding in the ice – v3”
Edited December 21, 2012
“hiding in the ice – v2”
December 21, 2012
“hiding in the ice”
Edited December 26, 2012
“Animated / Evil – v2”
December 20, 2012
“Animated / Evil”
Edited December 26, 2012
“A latent danger – v3”
December 20, 2012
“A latent danger – v2”
“A latent danger”
Edited December 26, 2012
“Smiling in the freezing – v2”
December 20, 2012
“Smiling in the freezing”
Edited December 26, 2012
“A frozen trap – v2
December 20, 2012
“A frozen trap”
Edited December 26, 2012
“was the road innocent – v2”
December 21, 2012
“was the road innocent”
Edited December 26, 2012
“Did the ice know – v2”
December 20, 2012
“Did the ice know”
series of new poems
also about my father’s death,
after reviewing poem by Jacob Montgomery,
“Icy Lanes”,
(see more of his poems at:
and exchanging emails with him about that poem
and my father’s death
2/14/1991
&
Edited August 22, 2013
“eyes not shut – v2”
August 22, 2013
“eyes not shut”
a poem in conjured after reading poem
TATTOOS AND ATTITUDE”
by Chip Bergeron
&
Edited September 20, 2012
new poem, “Did you brace for impact”
&
Edited September 20, 2012
“Mile Marker 19 – v5”
&
Edited September 12, 2012
“Mile Marker 19 – v4”
editing version 2 below
&
Edited September 12, 2012
“Mile Marker 19 – v3”
editing the original again
inspired by reading it at Poets’ Corner
monthly poetry reading,
at the Suncook Senior Center
September 10, 2012
&
edited June 6, 2012 (adding an additional last stanza)
“Mile Marker 19 – v2”
&
October 2, 2011
Did You Hear Her Cry
after rereading earlier poem,
“Mile Marker 19”
&
Edited April 23, 2013
“No Life in Your Eyes – v2”
February 11, 2011
“No Life in Your Eyes”
remembering the 20th anniversary
of my father’s death, February 14, 1991
written at the House of Purpose coffeehouse
Hillsboro, NH
February 11, 2011
&
new poem February 11, 2014
Where you are scattered
posted March 22, 2004
written 2/26/2001
Adam Asked
posted March 18, 2004
written March 6, 2001
Meticulous
posted March 17, 2004
written 3/2/2001 and 3/5/2001
The Submariner
posted February 18, 2004
March 2, 2001
“Ashes”
posted February 18, 2004
March 2, 2001
“Home Again”
&
posted March 10, 2004
written April 3, 2001 8:47am
Demons
&
posted February 14, 2004
(the 13th anniversary of my father’s fatal accident)
written June 18, 2001 10:54pm
The Crash
about my father's death
February 14, 1991
and my car accident
the day I applied to law school
&
posted February 8, 2004
original version written 5/20/2000
“Mile Marker 19”
posted to my blog on February 8, 2004,
as the 15th poem put on the site -
about my father’s fatal car accident
near Mile Marker 19
on the Spaulding Turnpike
Rochester, NH
February 14, 1991 at 7:02pm
Valentine’s Day


All of my poems and photographs are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 40,470+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

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