SmokingPoet

I have a series of data disks (SSDI death index) that came with "Ultimate Family Tree," which was discontinued before OSX came along. It is only a database file of some kind, but I have no idea how to open it without installing system 9 (ugh!). Is there an open source program for Mac OSX 10.5 that I can use and not mess up the field sequences in the file?

There is a file called "VIEWER.INI" but I can't open that either.

Thanks.

I have one child with Dandy Walker Syndrome including cerebellar vermis-hypoplasia, which seems to be caused by genetic problems with Reelin. I have another child that is as yet undiagnosed (unless you call ADHD, the catch-all for child behavioral disorders, an actual diagnosis) that seems to be helped by taking GABA. Could child #2 have a similar condition to Child #1? (same father, different mothers) What are some disorders (besides schizophrenia and Alzheimer's) that are related to an excess/defficiency of Reelin? I am looking for a more specific diagnosis/treatment for Child #2. He almost seems to show symptoms of bi-polar behavior. This disturbs me because he has just started taking a stimulant for ADHD and there are indications that this could cause early onset of bi-polar disorder.

Any specialists out there that can help?

When did Radko add the star hanger to his ornaments? I have an ornament that looks like his early stuff - very traditional and less cartoon-ey that most, but it doesn't have any identification on it - no markings of any kind and just a plain round hanger. It is of exceptional quality, but has no common characteristics/markings that remind me of any of my other hundreds of ornies. Was there any way to ID a Radko without the tags or the star hanger?

Is plasma integrated the same as a regular plasma? I have heard that plasma TV's can't be moved very often and when they are they have to be kept exactly level. Is this true? I don't want a TV that I have to pay someone to move every time I want to move the furniture around. What do you recommend?

Does anyone know the guitarist that plays on onstage in "The Memory Keeper's Daughter?" The movie credits don't list any information about the score. Can anyone recommend a particular classical guitarist in this style?

Thanks.

Figure Study

This high summer afternoon

he sat with one leg thrown over the arm

of our broken blue recliner,

wearing only grey boxers,

eating a plum;

unshaven,

and wild-looking,

his brown hair dark with sweat, falling

over his brow and curling.

The cheap box fan

wedged into the tall window

pulled a hot breeze through the house,

the lace curtains drawn aside

and tossed over the lampshade.

From across the room, I watched

the muscles flow beneath the skin of his shoulder.

I heard his teeth pulling

the tart flesh from the seed

and I could not look away.

He doesn’t know

that sometimes

he is art.

(Copyrighted)

Barefoot Dream

Can you be the melting snow

and flow over me

and the yellow quilt of my summer bed?

In benevolent tyranny

leave a place for me to kneel

at the alter of our private banquet.

Will you be soul-drunk

on the surprised flesh

of a sweet fat grape

until I cannot tell

which way my thoughts are facing—

toward the wreckage of a faded suburban street

or the last few feet of a country lane

where two dragonflies embrace

as they rise from the stream.

Do you invite me to sleep

under the skirts of night?

I think I would give anything

to wander off with you

in my ecstasy—

an ordinary insomniac

with a head full of lightning,

to barefoot country.

Eurydice Is Still Angry

Of course, I followed you everywhere-

just three steps behind, in fact,

like a good little wife,

didn’t you hear me when I cried for you

to lead me out of the darkness?

How dare you doubt me?

I know I’m just a trophy wife

in other’s eyes a tribute to your manhood,

Don’t project your faithless, fickle heart on me;

try to tether me with a glare.

Fool! If I could just reach you,

I’d tear you to pieces myself.

What do you have to cry about?

Look at what you did to me,

It’s a goddam Greek tradgedy!

It's been hanging around a while, and I can't decide if its done.

Every time I go to the local Chinese buffet, my favorite things are these little dough balls rolled in sesame seeds. They are chewy and slightly sweet and about the color of a yam or sweet potato. They are delicious even in the dingiest little restaurants. Does anyone know how to make these?

Elegy

I look forward to haunting you,

refusing obedient rest

beneath a cold marble silhouette – the silent muse

of childhood picnics

and walking home

drowsy

from the cemetery on the hill.

Now I lay me down

atop sun-warmed concrete monuments,

their faces wrinkled by the stonecutter’s hand-

names and dates

tethering the sleeper,

forcing him to stay

respectably cold & dead

until rapture.

I will tickle you,

weaving the circle of songs,

mocking the finite

with language’s long memory.

There is more living

than can be wedged

into the lead-lined vault of

an average life

span.

(Copyrighted)

I wrote this - maybe a little wordy? What do you think? Its pretty hard to come up with twenty words for plastic...

Haunting

Plastic pumpkins stare with yellow eyes;

trash bag ghosts crinkle in the breeze;

composite acrylic gravestones glow

with acid green bulbs, tethered

to a vinyl sided house

by an extension cord.

Plastic spiders dangle on clear fishing line

from glow-in-the-dark polyester webs

while children in masks and wigs

reach for cellophane-wrapped candy

in a black bake-lite bowl

made to look like a cauldron.

Molded rats and styrofoam skulls look on

while a plastic CD spins sound effects from

speakers with lucite casings.

Next week,

the sturdy trash bins will bulge

with leftover holiday

until a man wearing gloves crushes it all

into a landfill grave that someday

will came back to haunt us.

(Copyrighted)