tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46198052127798900842012-01-25T15:22:07.737-08:00Things are happening for this transplanted New Englander now living in Takoma Park. Read the latest . . .Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.comBlogger771100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-70509830284437428682012-01-05T13:35:00.000-08:002012-01-05T13:35:05.251-08:00

Well, another birthday to be grateful for. On this day, more than 60 years ago, my 19-year-old mother zoomed along in the backseat of a taxicab to a Providence hospital about 12 miles from home. My grandmother, a nurse, rode along with her. I think my grandpa, the town's much loved doctor, was on call at the hospital and already there waiting for us to arrive.     As the story goes, my dad 

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-50696420772899406032011-12-29T13:35:00.000-08:002011-12-29T13:35:52.785-08:00

Memories of Christmas back in the late 50s start with the living room filled with presents. This is before my brother arrived on the scene in 1959, so the presents circa 1958 included all-girl stuff for my two sisters and me. Dolls galore for Debi and Van, along with an easybake oven with a pack or two of cake mixes, a red tricycle with fancy handlebar handles with red and white streamers, and

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-55027998064850734352011-11-26T14:14:00.000-08:002011-11-26T14:14:55.101-08:00

My dog Scoutie O' Scoutie died last night at the emergency hospital for animals in Friendship Heights in Washington, DC. From the waiting room chairs my daughter Erin and I could see Scoutie on the table with three attendants petting him, checking his blood pressure with a little blue cuff, and giving him fluids through a catheter line in his right front leg. His snout rested in an oxygen "mask"

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-25780358000372281722011-09-08T15:06:00.000-07:002011-09-08T15:07:02.527-07:00

Poetry season in Takoma Park begins on September 15 at 7:30 pm with the Third Thursday Reading Series at the Community Center. Four poets, including Meredith Pond, will read or perform their work in front of a wild crowd of town residents, friends, relatives, and former teachers and parole officers. Meredith Pond . . . Who? Is she the woman who used to post all the time to her Pond on Pond

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-33276860444638463122011-07-20T12:00:00.000-07:002011-07-20T12:37:55.316-07:00

The poem below, one I wrote before Christmas last year, was published online in Beltway Poetry Quarterly (Volume 12, Number 1  Winter 2011) for the Langston Hughes Tribute Issue.  After the poem appeared online, I met Kim Roberts at a fundraiser for the MFA Program in Creative Writing at American University. The event feature alums, friends, family, and a special music moment with Kermit Moyer on

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-57968407063557107752011-06-18T13:25:00.000-07:002011-07-20T11:42:35.396-07:00

A couple of days at whale camp at San Ignacio lagoon on the Pacific side of the Baja is just not enough . . . Here's me in all my SPF 30 gear scritching the head of a young gray whale. This "little" whale, way bigger than the panga, liked us enough to come back to visit two times of the four trips we made out into the middle of the water. It's easier when the water's calm. The encounters I mean.

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-73883251721549091982011-03-02T13:51:00.000-08:002011-03-02T15:42:45.743-08:00

 In 2005, I took this photo of a gray whale in Magdalena Bay. Almost time to leave for the Baja again. Ticket, snorkel and mask, pesos, my "easy Spanish" guide, flipflops, sunglasses. You get the picture. Gringo lady loose in Mexico. My usual trip to Cabo is in February, but this trip is special. Cabo is just a 3-day "pit stop" at the Fiesta Americana resort in Los Cabos where the Pacific

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-13686775753489710572011-01-22T11:04:00.000-08:002011-01-25T10:20:51.941-08:00

What's a neighborhood, if not a place to stand out on the sidewalk leaning on a shovel and complaining about all the snow. If you're lucky (I know you are) there's somebody there listening to you whine into your scarf, all damp now because your nose is running and your mittens are wet. We've all been there. Sayin' we really hate the end of January. We are not in a Wallace Stevens poem. The

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-16947566762599051142011-01-12T17:20:00.000-08:002011-01-12T17:20:19.467-08:00

I took this photo in 2005, the first time I visited Cabo San Lucas near a place called Land's End at the tip of the Baja Peninsula. After looking at the stone for a long time, I realized I had never seen anything like this formation ever before. It meant something. I just didn't know what. Maybe a family who lived in the sea found themselves on shore one morning all stuck together and melting

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-12455511764062037032010-11-17T15:12:00.000-08:002010-11-18T14:18:49.658-08:00

At the electronics store the other night . . . I'm looking around at the same program on at least 20 huge televisions mounted along the walls. It's like being at a game show. Lights are flashing. Bells are ringing. Beethoven (the dog) is romping around on screen. The fact that I'm shopping at all is shocking and inexplicable, except that it's R's birthday, and I want to do something worthy of

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-78337754690476011542010-09-05T14:06:00.000-07:002010-09-05T15:32:25.804-07:00

Back in 1969, my friends and I used to spend a lot of time at Montrose Park and Dumbarton Oaks. We shared a group house near Dupont Circle usually mobbed by other friends from other universities, all arriving for another march against the war (Vietnam).Spending time at the park seemed to solve every problem. Apartment full of people? Go to the park. O Street tear-gassed by police in riot gear? Go

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-1409982707634430852010-08-30T15:26:00.001-07:002010-08-30T15:35:21.791-07:00

August 15-20 in Provincetown 9 of us participated in Marie Howe's poetry workshop. Instead of the standard critique format, this workshop focused on all new writing, including some writing with our non-dominant hands!

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-33294692770894371342010-04-14T13:07:00.000-07:002010-04-15T13:48:47.132-07:00

If I lived in a cabin in the woods a hundred years ago, my name, Meredith Pond, would be familiar to my neighbors. The town would be small, a closeknit community sharing vegetables and eggs. But now that the Internet exists, someone like me, the only Meredith Pond I actually know, can search Google and find out about all the others named Meredith Pond from Alaska to Maine. One lives in Salt Lake

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-68682038388823278342010-04-09T16:09:00.000-07:002010-04-09T17:03:35.494-07:00

One time Erin and Sean and I were up in Rhode Island staying at a rented beach house near Sand Hill Cove for a week. July, I think.Hot around Narragansett. But the ocean gave us a steady cross-breeze thanks to all the windows in the kitchen.As soon as we were back from the beach on our first day there, my dad showed up with a bucket of sea water full of lobsters.On the dock down in Galillee that

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-30778856920262652732010-03-17T15:12:00.000-07:002010-03-17T16:36:07.823-07:00

Read today in the Huffington Post that 36 million of us can trace at least part of our heritage to Ireland. The Emerald Isle is tiny, but here we are alive and well, balancing our fine fannies on mahogany chairs tonight at one of the many Irish pubs in Boston, New York City, Providence, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and elsewhere in this great green land of ours.On this day

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-19557715584816001272010-03-01T09:04:00.000-08:002010-03-01T09:29:47.155-08:00

Back from the Baja . . . Imagine looking over the side of a little motor boat and seeing humpbacks swimming and jumping out of the water just a few feet away. Not far from shore, in the Cabo San Lucas harbor, these baleen whales (who don't eat people, just krill and other tiny fish) teach their babies to survive in the water, which is full of humans in all kinds of boats.People applaud the

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-64449902293118482362010-01-31T15:52:00.001-08:002010-01-31T16:56:20.950-08:00

So it's time again for a trip to Baja California Sur and Magdalena Bay where the gray whales teach their children the ways of the ocean.I'm heading there in a few days with my daughter Erin, a wonderful photographer, and if we're lucky we'll get some good photos to share on the blog.For months now my posts here have been meager. I'm hoping to change that in the coming weeks after my return from

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-6620921364286820372010-01-06T15:47:00.000-08:002010-01-06T16:18:01.695-08:00

Well, another year is stewed and sealed and put away high on a shelf in the cupboard of our lives. It's safe in there in the dark, and it's good we don't have to look at it for a while. Just-lived events are not the same as fuzzy little memories from the past. Even horrible memories from the past sieve through that labyrinth of soft brain tissue until what comes out is, well, a Stephen King

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-75420657674852045182009-11-10T15:48:00.000-08:002009-11-10T16:46:58.586-08:00

This is the official poster for Veterans Day 2009 created by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). You can hear TAPS playing . . . almost.The VA Web site offers a poster gallery year by year back to 1978.I wish I had a time machine to go back and tape my Uncle Rollo telling one of his WWII stories. Perfect for MP3. I would love to hear them all again. Uncle Rollo could be on YouTube. Imagine

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-50487162239527330472009-10-30T15:12:00.000-07:002009-10-30T15:39:34.113-07:00

All Hallows Eve is not only the spookiest night of the year, it's also a celebration of one of our most enigmatic magicians -- Harry Houdini.And it's also the birthday of Susan Orlean, one of my favorite writers and the author of The Orchid Thief. Even more literary magic is happening tomorrow in Washington Grove, Maryland, where I'm joining a poetry group for the first time.This is big news

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-91524827294977582922009-09-30T15:57:00.000-07:002009-09-30T16:38:59.986-07:00

For someone like me who didn't really do much vacationing this summer, you'd think that the change of season would be a blip on my radar screen. On the contrary, this is a chance to get in my car and drive up to New England to see the leaves and pour some maple syrup on blueberry pancakes. OK, there's maple syrup in Maryland. As a matter of fact there are changing leaf colors in Maryland . . .

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-15024376820679877052009-07-21T15:44:00.000-07:002009-07-21T16:04:58.264-07:00

There's a good reason for driving 7 hours without stopping from Maryland to Rhode Island. Clamcakes.In the summer there's nothing like them . . . We stand in line at Aunt Carrie's on Ocean Road in Narragansett for more than an hour sometimes on weekends when everybody's blue from being in the waves too long. The clamcakes in this photo look a little greasy. But you get the idea. My favorite parts

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-7271713488364021932009-07-17T13:06:00.000-07:002009-07-17T13:28:44.768-07:00

Published online at PoetryMagazine.com (Current Poets Summer 2007), this poem is deep in their archives now. Time has passed, new poets are posted. Old poems disappear every day from cyberspace unless someone who loves them reposts! So here's my Cormorant poem revived and reposted, exactly 2 years later:A Cormorant Dries Her WingsNext time you're driving up Race Point Roadon the way to the beach

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-68579441384927522312009-07-14T15:43:00.000-07:002009-07-14T16:37:54.906-07:00

July 1969. Dupont Circle, Washington, DC. The plan was simple. The four of us -- Alice, Alison, me, and Bill -- would camp cross country and down to Tucson. Bill's friend lived there, and he had a swimming pool. And as we were soon to find out, a spider monkey. The little creature wore an infant-sized diaper that came up under "his" armpits. Do monkeys have armpits? Yes. Do monkeys like miniature

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-19917236447463648342009-07-08T13:47:00.000-07:002009-07-08T14:17:16.517-07:00

Has it really been 40 years? I guess so. I'm not 21 anymore, that's for sure. I remember 21 . . .Back then dancing around in the rain on a slippery hillside was a lot of fun. No looking for a towel. No whining that my feet hurt. Just happy happy happy. Rain rain rain.In 1969, we lived well without cell phones, Starbucks, DVDs, and iPods. We had vinyl records and lots of velvet.Anyway, I keep

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-14193030679952775062009-06-19T15:55:00.000-07:002009-06-19T16:40:29.628-07:00

A little local poetry, including a visit from the Poet Laureate of Takoma Park, Anne Becker, is good for the soul. After a long day at work on deadline, there's nothing like an open mike. It sounds like I go to one every night! I don't, of course, except in my dreams.The sound of someone's voice reading her (or his) poetry is like relaxing in a field of flowers (with no bees or bugs). The

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-40888742580031791862009-06-10T15:08:00.000-07:002009-06-10T15:23:23.952-07:00

With many humble apologies to the Writer's Almanac and Garrison Kiellor who posts poems and birthdays every day of the week all year long . . . I added a b'day for today. See #2.1. It's the birthday of Judy Garland, born Frances Ethel Gumm in 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where her father operated the only movie theater in town. She starred in The Wizard of Oz (1939), Meet Me In St. Louis (

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-19771145695570951072009-06-03T12:53:00.000-07:002009-06-03T16:34:17.859-07:00

My answering machine holds a collection of messages from past holidays. In my family, this is what we call insurance. You never know when you'll fall out of favor with one person or another. And, there's no chance of knowing the reason why they are mad at you either. So when I play the answering machine's messages, I can hear my son wishing me happy Mother's Day, my nephew saying, "Merry

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-44169615671096737062009-05-18T13:17:00.001-07:002009-05-18T14:19:52.854-07:00

Children, moms, dads, grandparents, toddlers are all chanting, "Shamu! Shamu! Shamu!" This is SeaWorld. And this is amazing. Living in the Nation's Capital, I forget that most towns and cities and amusements parks are not like DC. Here in Orlando, the crowd roars as this primal ritual gets underway. A young man in a whale suit is tossed into the air by a huge creature who could just as easily

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-57707012412962992062009-04-20T16:15:00.000-07:002009-04-20T16:49:07.853-07:00

I owe a photo credit to someone for the image at right. Thank you. I want to meet everyone in this photo. When was the last time you saw a man in a suit and tie at the movies?? And why does this photo reminds me of my mom? I have no idea. I don't remember seeing any 3-D movies with her. My most recent experience with 3-D -- "Journey to the Center of the Earth" -- with that George of the Jungle

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-6264327461270997592009-03-05T15:16:00.000-08:002009-03-05T16:19:52.025-08:00

In less than 24 hours, NASA will launch the Kepler science satellite to find planets just like ours in a small patch of universe not so far far away.Scanning starlight is Kepler’s task as its camera looks for signs of Earth-like planets “like a flea on a headlight,” according to today’s article by CBS News Space Consultant (and resident Trekkie) William Harwood.With approximately 200 billion

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-4421923612302861222009-03-03T15:19:00.000-08:002009-03-03T15:50:05.816-08:00

Wonder what it takes to pilot a spaceship / telescope to search for a planet just like ours not too, too many light years away?Well, not exactly like ours. This one would be "inhabitable" and I assume have lots of good water. That's something in short supply on our Mother Earth . . . water.Reading statistics on agricultural water needs the other day, I was truly stunned. Every acre of farmed land

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-31280584538981451302009-02-20T14:52:00.000-08:002009-02-20T15:39:55.519-08:00

A rack of robins perched in the neighbor's yard this morning. Maybe a dozen of them in the woody branches of the crape myrtle at the end of the street.These robins were coming home fluffy and strong from their winter in Texas or Florida. I guess they don't follow the Monarchs to Mexico any more. You could tell the robins from Texas. They were wearing little red cowboy boots and lassoing the

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-74075742665255485982009-02-15T11:57:00.000-08:002009-02-15T12:47:08.531-08:00

In the middle of the night the wind came up and whistled through the spaces between the window and the wall next to my bed.You've heard this sound before. A storybook banshee racing down from the tower of a dark castle towards your breezeway. She's wailing at the back door, knocking over your trash can with a force that wakes you with a start.The clock says 4:15 am. Walt the cat stays close. The

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-13450162497728243652009-01-21T15:28:00.000-08:002009-01-21T15:48:23.765-08:00

Waking up at 6:30 in the morning on Inauguration Day was like waking up at noon on a regular day. All the good stuff was already out of reach.The DC metro counted close to 200,000 riders by then, and they were all heading to the National Mall for a primo spot to see Barack Obama take the oath of office and become our 44th President.If I had managed to get to the metro at 6 am, let's say, maybe I

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-79498066896857797872009-01-09T16:05:00.000-08:002009-01-09T16:25:35.769-08:00

You never know when a mega-crunch carrot stick or a sweet little strawberry might just save your life. In this weather the critters that live around our deck -- the wild ones, not Scout, Walt, and Maynard G -- seem to manage with whatever drops down in the spaces between the boards. Don't get me wrong, picnics are not high on my list when it's 20 degrees outside. But sometimes I walk out on the

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-56910828712888799212009-01-02T08:29:00.000-08:002009-01-02T09:12:34.127-08:00

Here's to the promise of a new year . . . Resolutions? Hmm . . .I'd like to spend a week on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, go to Maui for the 2009 Humpback Whale Count, and finish writing that book about Rhode Island in the 50s . . .Oh, right, and I do have a job to go to. Luckily I enjoy that work and being part of a great team of writers and designers. It's hard to find a job you really

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-29344095905255368082008-12-16T09:59:00.000-08:002008-12-16T10:47:52.659-08:00

How dark is dark? How quiet?Wake up early this Sunday morning, let's say about 5 am, and you'll find out. Even with the sky full of bright stars.In the inner city, of course, your stars are more theoretical than visible, so you'll need to pull your hat over your eyes to get the sky obsidian effect.The hat helps. Imagine stars your only fire. We know they are out there. The stars, I mean. Even if

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-45562505809123546152008-12-12T16:56:00.000-08:002008-12-14T15:29:27.961-08:00

I'm sure I was a sea creature in a past life, so when I fed the dolphins at SeaWorld ($7 for 3 little fish, but who's complaining), I was happy to meet some relatives!Dolphins seem to be well tended there at the park. Time with humans is strictly limited, and interactions are monitored (the humans are the ones misbehaving by grabbing the dolphins' toys). R's birthday was the official reason for

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-71108672731534488242008-11-02T09:11:00.001-08:002008-11-02T09:33:52.058-08:00

If hope is a bird with feathers in the collective soul of our great nation right now, that bluebird is singing her little heart out . . . as the color red disappears under the breaking blue wave of change.The talk shows this bright Sunday morning are calling for Barak Obama's win to be big -- more than 350 electoral votes. Red states turning blue one by one . . . like a giant ink bottle

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-6703418925415593312008-10-13T14:20:00.000-07:002008-10-13T14:34:26.601-07:00

My Daughter, Erin, just returned from Pumpkinville, somewhere near Leesburg, VA, and as it turns out lemurs live there!Erin visited Pumpkinville with her best friend's toddlers, their mother (best friend), and Grandma Pat.Besides the requisite sheep, goats, and llamas, Erin was surprised to see a lemur. She has seen them at the Philadelphia Zoo, near where she lives and teaches art and

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-71669320316492830672008-09-05T15:51:00.000-07:002008-09-10T17:34:15.668-07:00

One thing about a hurricane barreling up the coast, you can feel it coming. Everything gets quiet, doesn't it?The day you're standing in is more beautiful, more clear than any day you can remember for a long while, but something is going on way out there in the ocean. Something big. Something that can't stop spinning and sucking all the water into a wall hundreds of feet high . . .From the air,

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-76095928059564341642008-08-05T12:56:00.000-07:002008-08-05T17:32:20.444-07:00

Saturday morning, I woke up at 6:15 and ran outside in my "Little Pig on Holiday" shorts. My big hurry? The solar eclipse. It was supposed to start at 6:21 am, eastern daylight time. Or so I thought. Out in the yard, not one bird chirped, not one squirrel barked, even Walt (the cat) stayed inside. In a few minutes, the sun rose full faced with no sign of darkness. What did I miss? Ah, as I soon

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-34707262633434936222008-07-29T14:25:00.000-07:002008-07-29T14:40:54.365-07:00

Some people like ketchup on their eggs in the morning, and some people like tabasco sauce. Or that's the way it used to be.Now, a new item appears in the hot sauce section of my grocery store in Silver Spring almost every week.If you like to collect bottles of hot sauce, fly to New Orleans for the greatest selection. You'll have more bottles than a genie!

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-13565496861674897992008-07-25T09:59:00.000-07:002008-07-25T10:31:48.207-07:00

Who turned up the thermostat in New England last week? Wasn't me. The apartments at the Fine Arts Work Center are without A/C, but let's face it. Nobody's in her room at FAWC.The workshops, on the other hand, do have A/C. Unfortunately, because some of us are soft-spoken, the A/C is often sacrificed so we can hear each other.We're talking 100 degrees in an upstairs room with the windows closed. I

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-695888461199201352008-07-08T16:02:00.001-07:002008-07-08T16:40:21.097-07:00

A little boat's waiting for me down at the shore in P'town right now . . . but it's still days 'til I get there. Three days to be exact. I should be grateful for the short wait, but I'm not. Laundry, packing, changing oil, selling two goats to buy enough gasoline to get up there. And what about my surfboard? I haven't used it in 30 years, but I just might, so I better tie that to the roof of the

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-72700021750013258522008-07-01T12:36:00.000-07:002008-07-02T12:48:43.950-07:00

The American Film Institute in Silver Spring, MD, recently hosted Joan E. Biren's award-winning documentary, "No Secrets Anymore: The Life and Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon."Auspiciously, this event took place just a few days after Del and Phyllis exchanged marriage vows -- for the third time -- in their home town of San Francisco. The first couple to wed after the most recent California

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-85456293842147538502008-06-30T12:36:00.000-07:002008-06-30T15:32:56.949-07:00

Life is perilous and short. Buzz, one of our household's three pets, passed away this morning from liver failure. He died without a sound in his mom Riggin's room.Earlier, when he came in to the kitchen, he seemed a little wobbly as if his legs wouldn't cooperate with the direction he was heading. But otherwise, he didn't seem that sick. But Scout and Walt came over to him and just stood there

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-89886701058540545952008-06-26T15:43:00.000-07:002008-06-26T16:06:15.645-07:00

When you're visiting Baja California Sur, one of the most amazing things is the world around you.My first time in Cabo, I flew in a 12-seat Cessna up the coastline about 300 miles to La Bahia de Magdalena. There in the shallow water (max depth 60 feet) of the surrounding lagoons, gray whales raise their young.The locals make a living by giving touristas, in groups of four or six, rides out in

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-84098502188706691312008-06-23T16:54:00.000-07:002008-06-24T16:10:45.416-07:00

All the world is crisp and shiny outside the window at work this evening. A double rainbow arching over White Flint Mall . . . I guess the message is: If you don't go to Nature, Nature comes to you. Right at your desk.The stormtrack that ended with the rainbow flourish is still moving across the sky with thunderheads and rain off in the distance. Behind it is clear blue sky.Driving down Sligo

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-39224417349223287972008-06-20T13:30:00.001-07:002008-06-20T13:54:34.079-07:00

Today is the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice. At 8 pm tonight, one minute after the big moment, the days will officially begin to get shorter and shorter until the Winter Solstice in December.If a beach appeared on Rockville Pike and waves rolled in over the parking lot at White Flint mall, this would be a perfect first day of summer. Of course if you are planning to drive to the

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-49186336383629376362008-06-15T10:12:00.000-07:002008-06-15T10:56:50.973-07:00

In the Post today, I read about the new cultural center on old Yazgur's farm (or what was Yazgur's farm in 1969). With the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival on the horizon, I'm figuring that the townspeople of Bethel, NY, are making plans to "get it right" by this time next year when 60-year-olds like me show up for music, biblical rains, and c-rations dropped by helicopter onto our

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-68069694463851555552008-06-14T09:58:00.000-07:002008-06-14T10:14:19.292-07:00

A friend sent me this photo the other day. Moments like these make a difference in a child's life . . . especially when it's a positive experience and the creature doesn't try to swim off with your dress. I think this is a beluga whale. I wish I had paid more attention in my freshman biology class at GW way back when. Then I could give you an accurate ID. Is the animal smiling? Maybe it's just my

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-74022514767069342562008-06-07T08:54:00.000-07:002008-07-08T10:55:59.082-07:00

Tuesday, June 10, is my dad's 88th birthday. Even though he's not physically around anymore, I sense his presence. Sounds corny, I know, but I hear his voice as clearly as I ever did, even though I can't see him shaking his head in exasperation. The photo here is my dad with my daughter. We had just left Iggy's Clam Shack in Warwick Neck, a couple days before Easter '05. A typical chilly mid

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-53593545345794618622008-06-06T12:37:00.000-07:002008-06-06T17:10:16.932-07:00

Soon it will be summer and that means off once again to the Fine Arts Work Center in P'town. This year, I'm taking a weeklong workshop with poet Jean Valentine. My first semester in the MFA program at American U, I studied with Jean. She was thoughtful and kind. An inspiration. When a student handed something out, she'd say in her soft voice, "Well, how do we do with this one?" People were

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-12246310358002990052008-06-04T13:39:00.000-07:002008-06-15T11:09:58.917-07:00

The Providence Journal's Subterranean Homepage News projo.com Subterranean Homepage News posted this "Hendrix at Woodstock" story of mine on Sheila Lennon's blog.Monday Morning, 5am, 1969, at Yazgur's Farm . . . Peace.Posted by: Meredith Pond on August 15, 2005 1:55 PM

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-23159318399379012102008-05-26T10:41:00.000-07:002008-05-27T17:13:27.427-07:00

Memorial Day when I was growing up included a big parade up Washington Street in Coventry, Rhode Island.Uncle Rollo would put on his admiral's uniform with all the gold "scrambled eggs" on the visor of his hat and join Benjamin Franklin Tefft and the other two members of the Kentish Guard who were still alive for a ride from Anthony Green to the Town Hall.They all rode in a covertible waving to

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-85764485241660702402008-05-17T18:12:00.000-07:002008-05-18T17:13:49.765-07:00

An adventure that begins with a ferry ride has an element of magic built in. Visiting Block Island, 12 miles off the coast of Rhode Island (where I was born), is like time travel to 19th Century New England with its wraparound porches, old farmhouses, and meadows separated by stone walls. It's a cozy, friendly place. This trip, I spent a long weekend at the Poetry Project, not far from town.

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-6976799660247307952008-04-11T14:35:00.000-07:002008-04-11T14:57:25.871-07:00

Something about a birthday, a special birthday. Like turning 18 for example. Can you remember what that felt like? Just a flicker in your mind?Well, one of my neices turns 18 today, and she really has her life on track. A senior in a New England high school, she's in the school band, and she's interested in chemistry and forensics. Plus, she's a kind human being. Marge Helgenberger move over!

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-23226985055811329982008-03-30T07:30:00.000-07:002008-06-15T10:11:57.875-07:00

If April is the cruelest -- and also National Poetry Month -- I'd like to spend a few moments here at the end of March talking about March, the tumult, the madness, the suprise host of Eastertime. It's not easy being the transition month from winter to spring. Even in the DC area, where our winters are nothing like my childhood winters in Rhode Island, spring arrives on howling winds and falling

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-39390277397540880512008-02-21T13:18:00.000-08:002008-02-21T14:31:36.090-08:00

The heat of the sun is not easy to remember when it's 24 degrees outside. As I pull on my mittens and fuzzy psychedelic gnome hat, I barely make it to my car as the wind barrels up the street and pushes me into my neighbor's industrial-size recycling bins. But I manage somehow to get in the car, turn up my new favorite music (Ozomatli), crank the heater to uberhigh, and skid down the hill toward

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-59808229152978117932008-02-02T17:06:00.000-08:002008-02-21T14:37:17.082-08:00

My third trip to Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja California Sur sent me home with a tan and a smile and a glimpse of what a vacation in January really means.But getting there was no fun at all. To start, I almost didn't make it out of town.Thursday morning, January 17, I woke up to snowflakes falling and weather reports meandering back and forth from promises of six inches of snow to freezing

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-68452451655924040972008-01-07T12:30:00.000-08:002008-01-09T08:50:27.785-08:00

My 60th birthday on January 5 brought together poets, writers, friends, and colleagues at the Writer's Center in Bethesda for a Saturday afternoon of diverse voices and good company.Readers included Rose Solari, Bill O'Sullivan, Nan Fry, Cindy Lollar, Ginnie Hartman, Sarah Sorkin, Judith Witherow, Sue Lenaerts, Riggin Waugh, and Mary Beth Hatem. Poets from Rose's spring class at the Writer's

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-59705568287898502372007-11-28T12:58:00.001-08:002007-12-17T14:06:27.552-08:00

I'm hosting a reading at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to celebrate my 60th birthday on January 5. The reading begins at 2 pm and cake and goodies follow.Please attend and bring your friends!The theme is epiphanies . . . not only because James Joyce made a big deal about them, but also because turning 60 is, well, the amazement of a lifetime. I'm sure I'll have some deep thought to

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-378417364900905542007-11-19T15:01:00.000-08:002007-11-19T15:12:59.704-08:00

So much has happened in the past weeks -- August, September, October flashing by faster than you can say Jack Frost or read O. Henry's "The Last Leaf." Let's face it, Summer is over. And out on the deck in the back yard, it's impossible to sit for more than 5 minutes without announcing, "Hey, I'm freezing."And we all know, at least those of us who don't live year round in Mexico, that we're in

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-32845997945800327082007-09-30T11:35:00.000-07:002008-06-07T08:53:40.217-07:00

Summer's over, but I'm still thinking about my trip to Narragansett and P'town in July. When I arrived at the Anchor Motel across from Scarborough State Beach near Galilee the first news I heard was the story of a man who was swooped into the ocean by some kind of freak wave. Standing in knee deep water right near the shore with two small children, the man lost his footing and disappeared

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-65098873787954450452007-08-13T15:42:00.000-07:002007-08-13T15:54:58.194-07:00

It takes a while to get out there (or is it up there?), but Provincetown is a wonder to behold. Standing on the shore at Herring Cove Beach, you can see whales swimming by, watch children play, and get an unforgettable sunburn if you just happen to forget your sunscreen. More is coming . . . stay tuned!

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-53974844554837402392007-07-18T10:14:00.000-07:002007-07-18T10:32:09.423-07:00

About a year ago, I flew to New Orleans for a few days for work. I had some time to explore the French Quarter, and I noticed that many houses and even restaurants have little gardens in their backyards.As you can see from the photo, it's cool and easy back here. Easy to sit down, easy to watch the bricks stay in place with no effort at all.And it's easy to appreciate time standing still for a

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-58125046496058391182007-07-14T13:11:00.000-07:002007-07-16T15:56:00.545-07:00

Well, this coming week, it's on the road up to Provincetown and the Fine Arts Work Center for a week of poetry with poet Cleopatra Mathis and many other writers and artists.Don't tell anybody that I picked the workshop because her name was "Cleopatra." I figure when I'm 90 I can freak out my great-grandchildren by telling them I studied poetry with Cleopatra. Think glittering barges on the Nile.

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-53130372683024463302007-07-13T15:45:00.000-07:002007-07-16T08:13:21.324-07:00

Dear Ones,I wanted to let you know about LASOA, the Lemur Appreciation Society of America. A fledgling group of concerned lovers of these leaping tree creatures, LASOA started up a couple of years ago when a couple of local writers had been working way too hard. And right now, we still have the same number of members as we did in the beginning -- three. The President, me (Meredith), the Vice

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-9875812006782277222007-07-13T15:23:00.000-07:002007-07-14T11:09:56.621-07:00

Dear Pondling,I know and you know that a title can't be "owned" by anyone, but I was dismayed to find "Thoughts from the Pond" is the title of an inspirational Web site that belongs to a Mr. Williams, from Jacksonville, Florida.So, dear Pondling, we have to change the name of our blog. You'll probably find it annoying in that way you do, but we must. Sure, I've been Christian -- Baptist,

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-54659230576457031292007-07-10T08:25:00.000-07:002007-07-14T13:01:42.756-07:00

On Saturday, July 7, I made my way downtown through the labyrinth of fences and cement blockades around the Capitol to hear Al Gore speak about global warming at DC's version of "Live Earth."The "Mother Earth" event was planned as a 12-hour marathon event at the National Museum of the American Indian. Professor Henrietta Mann (on stage at left) started the opening ceremony with a prayer to save

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-10490505282772206462007-07-09T15:11:00.000-07:002008-05-31T12:40:30.103-07:00

Change is good . . . I can be more vigilant about recycling. I can turn out lights when I leave a room. But Al Gore is doing a whole lot more than that. He's mobilizing young and old across cultures and time zones to ramp up the volume on global warming. Saturday, July 7, I drove down to the Museum of the American Indian at about 10 am to see if I could take a picture or two at the last-minute "

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-52467769913676152232007-07-06T12:47:00.000-07:002007-07-14T13:06:51.866-07:00

In summer, Washington, DC, is a sultry swamp of heat and humidity. Those of us who live here are used to it.Well, sort of.After all these years, I still run in to air-conditioned buildings to cool off. And I have bandanas in the freezer to tie around my neck if I'm heading out for a walk that's farther than the mailbox.As a rule, we turn out in droves with coolers of ice and lemonade to enjoy 4th

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-21156697410124743952007-06-30T09:08:00.000-07:002007-07-16T16:48:28.630-07:00

Today, I want to introduce you to a truly incredible writer, Judith K. Witherow.She's a dear friend of mine, and she and her partner, Sue Lenaerts, maintain her Web site of poetry, prose, commentary, humor photos, and more. Visit Judith's Web site!You'll be a better person for the visit, believe me. There are articles to read, poems and haikus to experience, and you'll learn first hand about

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-42929322282412642652007-06-29T11:51:00.000-07:002007-06-29T12:10:27.756-07:00

All my deadlines converged today in a perfect storm of do this now, which of course is an impossible task. Several poetry chapbook competitions due all at the same moment! Yikes!Does everything have to turn into a mythic test? Well, yes. It's kind of fun, isn't it? Especially when you're somebody like me -- a tad obsessive. I impose deadlines on myself for my own good. I think it has to do with

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4619805212779890084.post-7680393049410245952007-06-28T13:06:00.000-07:002007-07-17T16:15:43.217-07:00

Well, it seems that I now have a blog. Is it possible? Is it true? Yes! I had no idea it's so easy. And now that I have the blog, I'll be blogging daily? Posting poems? Cool photos? Deep thoughts?Ah, whatever thoughts from the pond happen to float to the top. And, believe me, there's a lot floating around these days. Here's a photo of me in Cabo San Lucas around Halloween last year. You'd think

Meredith Pondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02628008931153935949noreply@blogger.com2