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Let’s Move to the Desert Judy Van-Ruggles
05/25/07
It was two thousand four and all lines were crossed
Third time laid off and third great job lost
We made up our minds to make a great change
Shake up our world – lives rearrange
We’ll move to the desert was the thought and the goal
So simple it stuck there and seeped in the soul.
We’ll move to the desert where life will be free
And simple and quiet with our trees thirty three.
We’ll have all the squirrels and kangaroo rats
We’ll watch the red boas and at night watch the bats
We’ll have it all paid for with nothing to lose
A simple solution….you toss and we’ll choose.
So, two thousand four when the lines were all drawn
We made our decision and worked dusk till dawn
We packed our belongings and two hundred odd boxes
To live with the coyotes and small desert foxes.
We took his collection of snakes, lizards and spiders
And parrots and parakeets became our first riders
They were also our losses in single revision
Our family of losses and fond odd division
He lost his collection of various creatures
And lost several tapes of his great double features
We got dumped our boxes and things in the sand
From a company who refused to lend us their hand
Refused to read directions or follow my notes!
Refused to see “fragile” and clothing and coats;
And organized chaos became way of life,
For this our direction and struggle and strife.
We blew with the wind along side the cars
And felt isolated like we’d moved off to Mars.
And soon illness struck him and I left my work
To fill all the needs and supply every quirk
And not working miracles we lived just that way
Seeing the journey there day after day.
Listening to winds and seeing it snow
We wanted to move here, did we like it all? NO!
But the people were friendly enough so it seemed
Not idealistic or neighborly as I had once dreamed
They were practical, helpful, and standoffish a bit
But we weren’t the socialites from the big money pit
So, we continued to thrive here and I have survived
All the attempts to keep organized for what? I’ve derived!
And why try to bother, just live day to day
It’s easier when you kick back and think a positive way.
It’s tough to BE positive and negatives to lose
But that’s what we wanted and we dreamed and did choose
We want to take care of it, pristine and clean
And leave as we found it, strong, harsh and lean
But full of surprises and smells and the creatures
Make up for the losses and his lost double features.
It’s peaceful sans winds that blow constant with fury
It’s great for the person who’s not in a hurry
It’s the desert the way that God I think intended…
The start of a dream and a lifetime that ended.
He left us with memories and dreams and a future
If we don’t break a seam or bust up a suture.
It’s ours for the taking and for the caring
For the brave and stalwart and crusty and daring.
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